THERE is a recruitment crisis in Irish catering with school leavers shunning the industry, according to Ms Anna Carroll, head of education and research in CERT, the industry's training body.
Ms Carroll was presenting the findings of three CERT surveys to yesterday's annual conference of the Irish Hotels Federation ink Cork.
One survey showed two thirds catering employees indicated were likely to stay in the industry. Another found II per cent of those with work experience in the industry would choose to make a career in it.
Mr Peter Malone, managing director of Jurys Hotel Group, was confused by the findings. Hotel catering, he said, was very different from other forms of catering, such as pub catering, disco catering, race meeting catering and others. Hotels should differentiate between the quality of their jobs and the quality of other catering jobs, said Mr Malone.
The perception of the tourism industry as one dogged by long hours and low pay was attractive to no one, said the Minister for Tourism and Transport, Mr Kenny.
Everybody would agree, he added, that the poor image needed to be seriously addressed "and this must be done sooner rather than later".
Mr Kenny said many hoteliers were conscious of their responsibilities "but I have to say that there is a minority that seem more interested in a quick buck and fail to take a longer term perspective".
The CERT surveys confirmed the impression that the hours worked are long in hotels, restaurants and licensed premises.
They found that 58 per cent of CERT graduates put in more than the national average of 40.8 hours per week worked by industrial workers.
Split shifts are widespread and managers are most likely to have long and unpredictable working hours.
Ms Carroll told the conference that almost half of CERT graduates received less than £150 a week (under £7,500 per annum) while 75 per cent earned under £200 per week (under £10,000 per annum). The average industrial wage in Ireland is £270 per week (£14,000 per annum).
Seventy three per cent of CERT graduates receive under £40 a week (under £2,000 per annum) as a service charge.
The research bound significant levels of dissatisfaction with hours, of work, wages, pension provision, perks in general, career prospects and opportunities for training and qualification.
Ms Carroll staid hoteliers would have to learn to treat their employees as they treated their customers. They would not be able to compete for employees when the job satisfaction they offered remained so low.
Mr Niall Saul, director of personnel at Waterford Crystal, advised the conference not to go for public relations solutions to its recruitment problems. Companies successful in attracting young people had several characteristics in common, he said. They saw employees as an asset rather than as a cost, and training and development as an investment, not a cost. That attitude would have to take root in the catering industry, Mr Saul added.
