There 2024 season it is now started bad shop windows of the premises they are full of signs with the writing “collaborators wanted”. A phenomenon that in recent years, especially after Covid-19, is taking on dimensions that are difficult to manage if not with a reduction in the quality of service of numerous establishments. First the pandemic, then a change in the social fabric had an impact on trade but also and above all on that pool of skills and professionalism acquired over the years thanks to collaborators. However, a leap in quality is also needed in the narrative of seasonal work: «Collaborating in a bar, a restaurant, a hotel or a campsite for the 2024 season does not mean bringing a dish to the table or being exploited, it means having a human and professional experience that it will allow you to meet thousands of people, hone one or two foreign languages, enter the world of work and acquire a wealth of skills that will allow you to travel the world” underlines the coordinator of Confesercenti Eastern Lombardy for Lake Garda, Andrea Maggioni.
The problem is also structuring them: «In Italy there are few hotel institutes compared to the rest of Europe – continues Maggioni -. If it is true that tourism is Italy’s oil, then we need to put the Hotel Institute back at the center of the education of our kids, updating the study plans and making it ever closer to the world of work. We cannot have hotel institutes like the one in Gardone Riviera, which suspend laboratories for entire weeks due to lack of resources.”
The operators in the sector aim at the ambitious project of putting the right person in the right place, with the aim of giving the guest who chooses Garda an unforgettable experience in a professional and welcoming environment. «Possible collaborators often show up at our businesses who are poorly motivated and have little inclination to want to work in the evenings and on weekends» observes Maggioni.
The recent renewal of the National Trade Contract has produced on the one hand an increase in the salaries of our collaborators for the next few years and an increase in protection, on the other a greater economic effort on the part of thousands of operators in the sector. «Now we hope that this injection of liquidity through payroll can be used to support consumption in bars, restaurants, shops and hotels» comments the coordinator of Confesercenti for Lake Garda.
Interesting i data from the Excelsior survey by Unioncamere for the Province of Brescia in relation to employment growth. Basically, in the March/May period of this year there were 35,240 more units, of which 12,500 in the world of trade, administration and hotel accommodation. In 2023 we had stopped at 33,130 units of which 10,890 in the aforementioned three sectors. In short, an increase in employed units in the world of commerce, administration and hotel accommodation of over 14% in 12 months. In 25% of cases the income is of a stable nature, i.e. with a permanent contract or apprenticeship, while in 75% it will be fixed-term. Over 17% of Brescia companies plan to hire collaborators in the coming months. «Now it is up to the Government to proceed with reducing the tax wedge on the salaries of our collaborators: the companies have already given» concludes Maggioni.
