Bendigo's hospitality industry has turned to social media to solve a critical staff shortage which has emerged post-coronavirus lockdown.
Sonia Anthony, co-owner of award-winning restaurant Masons of Bendigo and member of the City of Greater Bendigo's gastronomy advisory committee, has recently launched a Facebook page dedicated to linking local job seekers with re-opened hospitality venues desperate for staff.
The page already has more than 100 members and listings from a few high-profile venues including Hoo-gah, The Woodhouse, Percy and Percy and Ms Batterhams, as well as pubs and bakeries from as far as Elmore.
Ms Anthony said similar industry pages were common in Melbourne and other cities "so I thought, why not Bendigo?"
She said the current shortage of chefs, waiters, kitchen hands, baristas and supervisors across the city was the result of several historic and pandemic-related factors.
"There's always been a bit of an underlying demand for chefs, particularly regionally. And now, with the way COVID has flipped things," she said.
"Venues were forced to close, or they were forced to cut their staff numbers, and people have moved to other industries or perhaps they're taking a bit more time off before thinking about getting back into work."
Haley Aldred, owner of Bendigo laneway café, El Gordo, has received just three applications for a full-time supervisor role, which she started advertising three weeks ago.
"We honestly thought we'd be inundated, especially now with Melbourne beginning to open up and certainly even locally," she said.
"We thought we'd receive a lot more interest. We're one of many in Bendigo city looking for staff."
Ms Aldred said the current JobSeeker rate was partially to blame.
From December, JobSeeker will reduce from $815 a fortnight to $715.
"People would just rather be sitting at home, getting paid JobSeeker, rather than getting out and getting a job," she said.
Ms Anthony said the industry suffered from a "long-standing reputation of underpaying and expecting people to work long hours."
"It's frustrating [that such a perception still exists] because as a business owner, we've had the experience of working 80-hour weeks and being paid [for] 38," she said.
"That time is long gone. If you want to fill your venue with quality people and people who have the skills, you need to pay appropriately."
