Thousands more people are now looking for jobs in pubs, restaurants and hotels.
According to new report from hospitality recruitment website Caterer.com, the number of UK workers seeking jobs in the hospitality sector has surged over recent months, driven by people wanting more sociable and flexible jobs.
Extrapolating the results of its latest worker survey to the UK population as a whole suggests that some 2.9 million people are currently thinking of making a move into hospitality from another sector, with 2.1 million considering a role in hospitality as an additional job.
UK-based Google searches for hospitality jobs rose by 23% between 2021 and 2022, in comparison to overall job searches which showed no increase over the year.
The biggest uplift in applications per vacancy seen by Caterer.com were for Barista Management roles, followed by Food & Beverage and hotel roles. Regionally, the data suggests hospitality roles in the East Midlands are most in demand, followed by Wales and the West Midlands.
However, despite an encouraging rise in the number of ‘homegrown’ workers seeking jobs in hospitality, the data shows that a long-standing skills shortage, exacerbated by Brexit and the pandemic, continues to challenge the sector.
ONS research reveals that following a period of relative post-pandemic stability, the number of vacancies in hospitality has steadied – but remains 63% higher than 2019’s levels.
Alongside a decline in available international talent, the UK hospitality sector has also long faced a ‘perception challenge’, although the new report suggests that people may be starting to think of the sector differently.
Director at Caterer.com, Kathy Dyball, said: “It is very positive to see that more homegrown UK talent is turning to the hospitality sector for work. It demonstrates just how valuable the hospitality sector is to UK employment, and how much it has to offer employees.
“A huge part of the success of any hospitality business depends on its people, so to continue on this positive trend, it’s crucial that in 2023 employers focus on delivering the outstanding workplace experience that talent want, to encourage more candidates to the industry and be retained within it.
“An important part of this is maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce which is key to strong business performance; research shows that companies that embrace gender and ethnic diversity can expect a financial performance boost of 25% compared to industry peers.
“Our Caterer.com Equality Boost tool, is designed to help employers improve their DE&I, with access to diverse talent pools and new approaches to candidate targeting, allowing employers to broaden the range of skills that they attract to their business.”
