Third of tourism and hospitality businesses struggle to recruit
One in every three employers in Northern Ireland’s tourism and hospitality sectors are experiencing recruitment difficulties, Tourism Northern Ireland has revealed.
The stark figure comes as the body launched phase two of its ‘Make it Here’ campaign, designed to address negative perceptions of the industry and highlight positive aspects that are usually overlooked, such as career progression opportunities, flexible working hours and the sociable nature of many roles.
Tourism currently generates £1 billion in visitor spend for the north’s economy each year and employs 65,000 people – one in every 12 jobs.
But a survey of more than 100 businesses who took part in Tourism NI’s Tourism Enterprise Development (TED) programme found that 33% of employers currently can’t get suitable staff, and with the festive period approaching, 62% say they need continued support for developing staff skills, recruitment and retention.
However, a separate survey of 1,000 people as part of Tourism NI’s twice yearly tourism and hospitality perception tracker found sentiment was improving, with 26% seeing tourism as an appealing sector to work in, up two percentage points from the same survey six months earlier.
It also found that working in the tourism sector is more appealing to older age groups, with 36% of 50-64-year-olds positive about the industry (up from 27%) and 38% among over 65s (up from 35%).
Eimear Callaghan, head of experience & industry development at Tourism NI, said: “Our industry has a powerful voice and we need to come together to shout about the vibrant, rewarding careers in our sector.
“Employers are responding to the skills challenge by introducing more flexible rotas, new training opportunities, and changes in pay, grading and working conditions. Many are taking active steps such as signing up to the Wellbeing Promise, a commitment to promote the wellbeing and development of staff.”
The Make it Here campaign is being supported by key industry bodies such as Hospitality and Tourism Skills (HATS) network, Hospitality Ulster, Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance, Springboard, Bus & Coach NI and a range of employers.
For more information visit www.tourismni.com/makeithere, or to find out more about careers in tourism and hospitality go to www.makeyourcareer.co.uk.
