Hospitality sector faces up to future skills shortages

The organisation’s 2013 State of the Nation research​, which surveyed more than 2,000 employers from across the hospitality and tourism sector, found that employers believe management and leadership skills (69%), the need to address sustainability issues (58%), and effective use of social media (48%) will have significant influence on the sector in the future.

It also found that 88% of employers believe customer service skills would grow in importance in the next three to five years.

The report shows that while staff turnover rates have fallen from 31% in 2009 to 20% in 2012, continuing to lose so many people from the sector is undermining the industry’s investment in training.

Brian Wisdom, chief executive of People 1st, said: “Our employers are already saying that many of their staff lack the necessary customer service and management and leadership skills, so as the need for these particular skills grows, the situation could definitely get a lot worse.

“A lot of effort has gone into attracting people into the industry, but this shows that what we really need to do is place much more emphasis on making sure that the staff we already have in the industry are retained and given the training they need.

“As the economy picks up and we face recruitment competition from other industries, ensuring our staff have the right skills is going to be hugely important.”

The research shows that in addition to retaining staff in the hospitality and tourism workforce, providing the right training and development opportunities for individuals is also seen as imperative.

“Our research found that only 41% of organisations offered training in the past 12 months, which means that there are a lot of people missing out,” said Wisdom.

“Of those that do offer training, most money is directed toward elementary occupations, which is carried out at the most basic level, and much of this is because of the high turnover rates we’re experiencing. It has become a vicious cycle that we need to stop.

“If only 36% of organisations provide training directed at addressing individual needs, we are not doing enough to develop the skills we need – either now or in the future.”

The report found that the rise of social media and technology will also play a significant role in the future of the industry, as people are making use of new media and information sources to become increasingly well informed about what is available in the market.

These changes are influencing the way customers perceive value and what they want from services, as they are able to compare information more easily and get better deals. The report showed that this is leading to an increase in competition and a real focus on the customer experience.