Working in the Hospitality Industry – Addressing the Skill Shortage

The hospitality industry.

Waitressing.

Many think that working in the hospitality industry is simple and enjoyable, I mean its not rocket science, anyone can work and get a job in the industry, and do so every day, no training or experience needed right?

And yet, every year, it is reported that the industry experiences: - high skill shortages, high employee turnover, increase in the amount of customer service complaints and an increase in inexperienced hospitality professionals.

The government and the training colleges are working in conjunction with each other, trying desperately to produce highly skilled professionals for the hospitality industry, but failing miserably with many employees having the skills, but simply lacking the experience, mindset, determination and stamina of working in a fast paced pressure cooker environment.

When you top that off with having customers complain left, right and centre, shift work that includes working nights, weekends and public holidays, possibly 12 hour shifts or back to back shifts and lassaire – faire managers, is it any wonder that –

a)      The employee turnover is so high

b)      There is a skill shortage and

c)      You have inexperienced casual hospitality professionals

There are possibly two reasons why the industry could be always experiencing skill shortages

1.  Around the late 1990’s / early 2000, I seem to remember that there was a very deceptive government advertisement that was distributed, in trying to glorify and make the hospitality industry more attractive. In this advertisement, it was stated that you can earn great money, party all night long, and then work all day and meet great people and celebrities.

I don’t know about you, but having worked in this industry for the past 15 years; the money wasn’t that great, I had no time to go out and party, let alone have a social life because when everyone was out partying and having a life, I was working and as for meeting celebrities, well, sure, you’d see them, but you wouldn’t be able to talk to them because you’d be too busy working.

Don’t get me wrong, the industry does have its good moments, but trying to lure the next generation into the industry by providing and publishing misleading information is not the best way to boost the industry.

2. As the hospitality industry knows that it will always experience high employee turnover, and skills shortages, it seems that they will always simply rely upon the casual inexperienced university students, to try to resolve the industry problems by just filling existing positions.

This isn’t going to solve the problems which the hospitality industry face every year, because instead of the managers, governments and training colleges thinking and planning of the long term strategies, businesses just keep going around and around in a never – ending loop.

No wonder the industry is so in need for more skilled personnel.

So, what the government and the hospitality industry need to do is to develop an honest advertisement that takes the good with the bad.

Thank goodness, the Tourism Training Australia website have at least addressed some of these factors, however, a lot of work is still needed to promote the hospitality industry.

Let me finish with this final piece of advice.

Sure, working in the hospitality industry is bloody hard work; what with the split shifts, the late finishes and early starts ( with many employers just scraping over the regulations of what is allowed!! ), working weekends, public holidays, Friday and Saturday nights, of having to deal with grumpy customers and customer complaints and having to deal with really grumpy, sometimes abusive kitchen staff, but if you don’t have a thin skin, love working in a pressure cooker, fast paced dynamic environment, with average pay ( part time $15 p/hr ), then this is the industry for you. Welcome aboard.

By Sue Kunert – Lee

© 2009 Sue Kunert - Lee