Failte Ireland is launching a new campaign as a way to solve the staff shortages in the hospitality industry post-Covid.
It hopes to attract staff by targeting Ireland’s job seekers and businesses directly.
According to statistics, around 90% of companies in this sector have had difficulty finding new staff as restrictions eased.
After months of hardship amid closures, they now face new more barriers as 3 in every 4 workers in both tourism and hospitality are new to this area of work.
Officials representing these sectors referenced the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) as one of the main deterrents, on top of workers wanting more money to return, and fewer international staff due to the pandemic.
Many people who were employed in this area of work sought to embark on a new career path during Covid lockdowns as a way to secure an income, and likely won’t be returning, and so the need to attract new staff is higher than ever.
Speaking about the launch of the new campaign, Paul Kelly, CEO of Failte Ireland said; "After the incredibly difficult long closure period, tourism businesses were delighted to be able to reopen.
“However, this reopening has been exceptionally challenging for many businesses as they have been unable to capitalise on the available demand for their service due to staff shortages.”
"Fáilte Ireland has been collaborating with industry to help address this issue, with many businesses identifying recruitment as an area of priority concern."
