Hospitality hiring is on the up

With a recent surge of hospitality work becoming available in the UK, hiring is on the up.

Recruiters in the UK’s hospitality sector are to become even busier in 2014 as rates of hiring in the hospitality industry have risen in the last few months of this year. An upturn in hiring is plain to see in a survey publish by the Confederation of British Industry.

Despite the growth of hospitality jobs available to everybody nationwide, a worry for skill shortages has shined through with the new demand for staff.

According to the survey by the Confederation of British Industry, a total of 151 firms in the UK, including restaurants, bars and hotels said that their staff numbers grew strongly for the third time since last year.

The evidence of a rise in UK employment for the hospitality sector and its associated businesses comes as organisation The National Forest says it will create up to 2,000 new jobs in six years thanks to an increase in the tourism levels that the UK is bringing.

The research, which was also carried out by The National Forest, has said that the organisation expects to hire a massive total of 6,500 people in the woodland based economy by 2020, which comes as a direct result of the economic value and visitor numbers brought to the area through tourism and local naturalists.

The National Forest are also said to be providing work opportunities for both training and work preparation for young adults in their local community as well as those who suffer from employability barriers, which will both aid the National Forest and teach young adults and alike valuable work skills.

A massive 21% of growth was since in 2014 for the uprising of the hospitality sector, as jobs advertised went skyward with their figures. A total of 34,000+ jobs were being advertised for a number of hospitality businesses through the Caterer.com website. The year on year growth was also considerably stronger, seeing a sizeable increase of 14%, with equalled to a grand total of 126,000+ individual job postsings being listed on the site.

So, what does this mean for the hospitality industry? Is it good that more opportunies are becoming available or is it going to be difficult to fill the demand with skills workers?

Leave your ideas in the comments below!

For more on the hospitality industry, please visit our website for news, jobs and more.

10 great reasons why you should work in Hospitality

Why should you work in hospitality?

According to a survey by the British Hospitality Association, over 1.9 million people are said to work in the hospitality industry. Chances are though, that if you’re reading this article that you’re either one of two people; you’re already in the industry, or you’re considering it as a career option. Part of the beauty that working in hospitality gives is the joy you have from the role, but why else should you want to work in hospitality? Below we have compiled a list of eight reasons why hospitality is for you, and though shifts can be long and tiring at times, if you have a passion for the job then hospitality an incredibly rewarding career.

1. You can make someone’s day

Whether you’re a receptionist, a waiter, a bartender or a kitchen porter or any other hospitality job, your role doesn’t really matter in a sense of bringing joy to somebody’s day. Your presence makes their day a whole lot better; they come into your place of work for a host of reasons, whether its food, drink, service, relations or more, your job role is about people. Your job doesn’t revolve around the preparation of spreadsheets; it’s ultimately about the overall happiness of your customers.

Diverse friends sitting in restaurant placing order talking with waitress

2. It ‘opens doors’

Every single country in the world uses the hospitality industry, and it’s one of the world’s most common jobs as people worldwide are waiters and waitresses in their teenage years. The skills learnt in hospitality are easily transferable, with the personal skills that you learn i.e. customer service being needed in every single industry. You’ll constantly meet new people from new cultures, so you can always consider taking your skills abroad.

3. You can take on responsibilities

With the ever growing responsibilities in hospitality, this means you can make your way up the ladder very quickly in the industry. If you work hard and get on with customers and colleagues in a good manner, then very soon, you’ll find yourself in a senior position managing people and projects. You should always show initiative too, as this will always help your chances.

4. It’s a creative industry

Though hospitality is a people-oriented industry, hospitality is also an industry of creativity. You are creating a product and that doesn’t matter if it’s food, drink, a customer experience or more – there’s always a way to make your service more enjoyable for your customers.

Hospitality jobs
The hospitality industry is diverse

5. There’s no need to get stuck

There’s enough of a scope in the hospitality industry for you to gain a level of diversity in your career, therefore you’re not getting stuck in one sector. You don’t even have to move employer, you can simply move from a receptionist to a concierge or waiter. No other industry offers this level of diversity.

6. It’s not a 9-5 job

The mundane thing about most jobs is the 9-5 routine that people learn to hate. Waking up at the same time, with the same breakfast, with the same outfit, then catching the same train into the same office isn’t for everyone. The beauty about hospitality is the amount of variety that it brings to the role, not only in the varied hours of work but also the work you do in those hours as it can change at any second.

7. It’s a safe bet

People will always need their basic human needs; food, drink and somewhere to sleep.  So, even in a shaky economic climate like the credit crunch that has hit the UK in the past few years, the hospitality industry is a secure bet for a career.

8. Work can be a lot of fun!

Working in an office will often limit the perks available to you, despite getting a Christmas party with a few drinks, dire music and everyone looking a bit awkward. In the hospitality industry things are much, much different. After all, the function of your job is to be there to help customers have fun, so make sure you share some of that fun with each other.

9. Learn applicable life skills

The industry heavily revolves around food & drink – from purchasing stock & ingredients, to preparing them for service, and cleaning up afterwards. For young people especially, learning to feed, and clean for, others is more than helpful experience as you become more independent.

Woman washing dishes in kitchen sink, closeup view. Cleaning chores

10. Perks of the job

The vast majority of pubs, restaurants and hotels will offer discounts or freebies, you can use these benefits outside of work or have a much more enjoyable lunchtime compared to your typical meal deal!

For more on hospitality employment, please visit our website.