Special training academies had to be set up in bid to find hospitality workers as Brexit, Covid and agency working cuts the number of chef candidates
It’s not so much a case of too many cooks as one of not enough chefs with Plymouth hospitality companies struggling to recruit staff. Three leading employers have been involved in special recruitment events in the city as they try to fill front-of-house and, particularly, kitchen staff positions.
The Hoe’s Grosvenor Plymouth hotel, the Premier Inn chain, which has four city hotels, and Saltash’s burger and burrito joint Foreign Muck have all been involved in sector-based work academy events at Devonport Jobcentre. These are used to train people for certain sectors, and often used to fill care and security jobs but have even been used in Plymouth to fill coffee shop vacancies.
A quick online search found dozens of unfilled hospitality jobs in Plymouth, including for head chefs, at up to £36,000; sous chefs, at up to £32,000; commis chefs, at £22,500; chef de partie, at £24,000, and jobs for management, waiting, front-of-house and general hospitality staff.
It comes as UK kitchens are hit by a chef shortage, with Brexit, Covid and a move to agency working, which is more lucrative for workers, being seen as factors. In Plymouth, Stephen Crocker, work coach team leader at Devonport Jobcentre, said: “There is a real shortage of chefs at the moment. We have been focusing on supporting employers in the hospitality sector and it has been a priority, particularly for chefs, but front-of-house as well. Premier Inn, Grosvenor and Foreign Muck are all looking for chefs.”
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post by ChefandCookJobs
