Travel and tourism employers need to inspire more students to join the sector as the recruitment crisis continues to hit businesses.
Speakers at World Travel Market 2021’s Battle for Talent debate encouraged employers to “take some responsibility” to tackle the jobs crisis by engaging more with college students before they get to the stage of applying for entry-level jobs.
The call comes as the industry faces a ‘huge shortage’ of experienced applicants as a result of many choosing to leave the sector after losing their jobs or being furloughed during the Covid pandemic.
James Lemon, founder of hospitality mentoring platform Otolo and partner of consultancy The Growth Works, said the student numbers on hospitality college courses were down by nearly 50% this year.
He suggested companies get more involved with colleges to offer students work experience to ensure they do not join other sectors after completing their studies.
He said: “We need to go back to the schools and say why this is a career, not a job. The government plays a role [but] employers need to get their voices out there into local colleges and communities. We need to be doing guest lectures and mentoring as well as lobbying to get government support.”
Lemon pointed out other sectors which shut down during the pandemic were still managing to recruit and suggested there was a “disconnect” between companies in travel, tourism and hospitality and young people on college courses.
He added: “The excitement about working at music festivals has not died and yet that sector got shut down [during Covid].”
Ravi Reid, vice president of learning and development northern Europe, Accor, agreed: “We need to target schools and graduates. We are fighting for people who want to be part of this industry. For some reason people seem to drop out of catering college.
“We need to create opportunities to nurture and grow staff and we need to shout about all the good stuff. I think this is our responsibility. It’s important to support entry-level staff otherwise they will be gone.”
Barbara Kolonsinska, director of C&M Travel Recruitment, said the travel industry needed to inspire young starters to join the sector by telling them about what a fun sector it is and challenging perceptions of low pay.
She said: “It’s about making it attractive and educating people coming through university that it is fun and exciting and that you can work your way up.”
Kolonsinska suggested companies find out what existing staff want in order to retain them in future and ensure a happy workforce.
“It’s about going back to employees and finding out what drives them. You have to survey your team. It doesn’t cost much to look after people better,” she said.