Aussie labour force struggling to keep up with hospitality growth

Thirty-thousand roles in tourism and hospitality remain unfiled according to report Industry Insights from HR think-tank Reventure.

Reventure lead researcher Dr Lindsay McMillian said, “Unfortunately, it is no secret both tourism and hospitality have high turnover and low employee satisfaction.

“Something that the sector is not doing well, “ she said, “is demonstrating that employees have purpose and are valued. As a result, employees feel expendable and find another job as soon as they feel unhappy.”

The insights come at the same time as census data from 2016 shows significant growth in the industry. The latest data shows the Accommodation and Food Services sector now accounts for 738,231 positions—that’s 6.9 per cent of Australia’s total working population.

Of these positions, 80,723 were chefs—a figure that’s grown by more than 40 per cent since the 2011 Census, which recorded just 57,613 chefs.

Restaurant & Catering Australia CEO Juliana Payne said, “…the hospitality sector’s employment growth is showing no signs of slowing down. We know that the café, restaurant and takeaway food sector alone is expected to generate 84,100 new jobs by May 2022.”

Juliana said hospitality employers are looking to skilled and unskilled workers to fill the labour gaps they need to operate their businesses.

“The Australian labour force simply can’t keep up with the growth in key hospitality sector occupations, so there’s an imperative for governments at all levels to put in place the right policy settings to compensate for this.

“Without appropriate policy settings in place, the hospitality sector may very well fall victim to its own success,” she said.

On the individual business level, Lindsay said employers can improve retention rates by, “demonstrating how a role prepares an employee for the future—whether they want a career in the industry or want to gain transferrable skills.”