The search for personnel in the catering and public sector has become an increasingly pressing challenge in recent years. In recent days, Confesercenti Prato carried out a web survey with its members in the public sector sector. The reality is clear: almost all of our members interviewed experience difficulties in hiring staff.
THE INVESTIGATION
– 80% of companies are looking for staff
– 60% of these are looking for it on a permanent basis while 40% only for the summer season
– The most sought after figures are waiters. Followed by the cooks
– The most used tools to search for personnel are social media (100%), word of mouth (75%), employment agencies and employment centers (25%)
– The contracts offered for hiring are the seasonal contract (66%) and the permanent contract (33%)
“The lack of staff in the catering sector – comments the President of the Confesercenti of Prato Stefano Bonfanti – has become an increasingly evident challenge in recent years. There
demand for qualified professionals far exceeds the supply available on the labor market. This shortage manifests itself at all levels, from kitchen staff to dining room staff. The reasons are diverse and complex. The question we ask ourselves, therefore, is: what could be the main cause of the shortage of specialized personnel?” First of all, the lack of interest of young people in the culinary and hotel professions – continues Bonfanti – or the romanticized vision that harks back to many television shows. The common perception that working in the kitchen or in the restaurant sector is tiring, unrewarding and poorly paid has led to a shortage of staff in this sector. Furthermore, the lack of adequate training and internship opportunities in hotel schools. Often young graduates leave hotel management institutes without having acquired the practical skills necessary to face the world of work. This creates a disparity between the theory learned in school and the practice required in the field. To face this challenge, it is necessary, in my opinion, to promote the image of the culinary and hotel professions, increase the hours of in-company training internships in the study programs of hotel schools and encourage internship opportunities for young people.”
“We need to aim for valorising the work of dining room or kitchen staff. In our sector, perhaps, even more so in others, over the years there has been little valorisation of the professional figures who hold working roles within a public establishment – he claims Renzo Bellandi president of FIEPET, the trade union of public establishments – . Just think about how it is now a widespread thought
that the job of a waiter can be done by anyone, however, is absolutely not the case. It is a job that requires competence and professionalism. Just look at the CVs that come to companies for “waiter” positions, most of them without even the slightest experience, to understand how it is considered a job that anyone can do. Nothing could be more wrong. It’s a wonderful but very complex job. Let’s get over it!”
In recent years, Confesercenti Prato has created a meeting point between job supply and demand through Cescot Prato – Employment Agency to which we invite both companies and workers to turn to find the right answers to their needs.
