Major skills gap in pub industry

07-Sep-2011 - Last updated on 11-Mar-2017 at 23:04 GMT

Report says pubs are struggling to recruit quality staff

Pubs, bars and clubs are finding it harder to recruit managers, chefs and kitchen managers due to a “major skills gap” in the industry.

That’s the findings from the third annual People 1st State of the Nation report revealed today, which added that employing temporary staff costs the hospitality sector £33.4m.

The study found that 39% of employers with skills gaps report their managers do not posess the required skills — a 9% increase since 2007. It predicts that 69,000 additional managers will be needed by 2017.

Hospitality businesses are therefore resorting to bridging the skills gap through hiring temporary staff or recruiting staff without the full range of skills required, the study noted.

Over a third of empolyers surveyed (35%) said that they recruit transient labour. Six out of 10 employers (58%) admitted that the sector relies heavily on temporary workers, whilst 47% agreed that the level of resistance is far too high.

“The difficulty of finding managers with the relevant management and leadership skills is becoming more acute,” said Martin-Christian Kent, director of research and policy.

“The current trading conditions have intensified the need for managers to have a broad range of skills an, in recent years, the traditional pathways to become managers have been eroded making it more difficult to encourage people into the profession.”

Chief executive Brian Wisdom added: “Transient labour costs the sector an estimated £33.4m through constant recruitment and initial training.

"Whilst we recognise that transient labour gives businesses the flexibility to respond to fluctuating customer demand, this short-term approach contributes towards the poor image of the sector and limits productivity.”