Skilled labor shortage in the catering industry: How to solve the problem

The shortage of skilled workers in the catering and hotel industry is becoming more acute, as current statistics show. There is a particular shortage of service staff and cooks. In this article, we present how the problem could be solved.

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Skilled labor shortage in the catering and hotel industry

Millions of guests are expected to visit beer gardens, pubs, restaurants and hotels during the European Football Championship in Germany. But according to the German Economic Institute (IW), there is a shortage of more than 8,000 skilled workers in the hotel and catering industry.

The shortage is particularly severe in the catering industry, with almost 3,000 missing cooks and almost 2,000 skilled workers in the service sector, and will be felt during the European Championships - IW labor market expert Franziska Arndt explains: "The fans will have to wait longer for a beer or two at the game."

Even more alarming figures were circulating about a year ago: The hotel and restaurant association Dehoga stated that 65,000 employees were missing in Germany's restaurants and hotels

Career changers as a solution?

"There are businesses that are therefore forced to shorten their opening hours, introduce rest days or concentrate the range of food on the menu," says Dehoga labor market expert Sandra Warden. But of course that cannot be the solution.

Fortunately, the hotel and catering industry is becoming increasingly open to newcomers. In job advertisements, the well-known phrase "(Many years of) experience in the catering industry" is increasingly being removed from the "What you should bring with you" section. And rightly so. Why shouldn't a salesperson without such experience also be given a chance at a job as a service worker, for example?

A motivated, willing-to-learn career changer from retail has experience in dealing with customers and in sales, which can be easily transferred to the service area. He or she is also used to working in a team and under pressure.

Among the chefs, career changers are also conceivable, for example nutritionists, food technology specialists and housekeepers. Or enthusiastic amateur cooks who share their creations on social media. All of these candidates are basically rough diamonds that can be polished "on the job" or through special training programs.

But whether career changers or young talent - they are difficult to reach through traditional job advertisements. Many talented people are not even aware of their skills and potential for working in the catering or hotel industry and therefore do not actively look for corresponding jobs. This is where flynne into play.

Finding new talent with artificial intelligence

The recruiting tool uses targeted online campaigns to reach suitable talents for specific jobs in the hospitality and hotel industry. It also determines their qualifications and makes a pre-selection using artificial intelligence. All of this happens fully automatically.

For hoteliers or restaurateurs, this means that all they have to do is define their requirements for the applicants in advance. Flynne takes care of the rest - from sourcing to potential analysis to pre-selection - and then automatically presents the identified candidates.

Sounds exciting? In a Live demo The tool can be tested without obligation. The next major event is sure to come – until then, restaurants, hotels and event locations can equip themselves with staff using flynne.

Read also: Skilled labor shortage: Which professions are particularly affected?

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