Scottish kitchens are having to wait an average of five months to recruit and onboard chefs with the right skill set, according to new research.
The San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy commissioned Censuswide to survey 101 chef employers during March, finding that 67% believe that the uncertainty caused by the pandemic has put young people off from starting a career in the industry.
While 55% of those surveyed stated there is a wealth of gastronomy talent in the country, 77% said that more effort was needed to go into attracting people to become chefs.
A further 78% said there needs to be more mentoring to help young chefs thrive, while 56% said there weren’t enough networks for chefs to share practice around the world.
Separate analysis has revealed that 46% of senior decision-makers believe they have made a bad hire in the past 12 months, with small businesses more likely to feel the impact.
Recruitment consultancy Robert Half looked at internal data for 12 months to 1 March 2022, comprising more than 4,000 data points, relating to 200 roles across the finance and accounting, financial services, technology, HR and marketing sectors.
It also commissioned Rigour Research to conduct a survey amongst 300 c-suite leaders during February.
Three in five (61%) respondents felt that settling for a candidate whose skills did not match the role requirements was the main component in employing a bad hire, closely followed by rushing the hiring process (56%).
Seven in 10 of the businesses surveyed stated that the impact of making a bad hire is worse than it was 12 months ago.
Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are impacted more than larger organisations, with 82% reporting increasingly severe negative impacts.
The research also revealed that average starting salaries for professional services roles have increased by 4.9% in the last six months alone, with more than half (53%) of business leaders having to pay new hires more than current employees.
Matt Weston, senior managing director for the UK, Ireland and Benelux, said: “Making a bad hire can have serious implications, as the time and expense taken to recruit and onboard a new employee can feel like wasted time and effort when it doesn’t work out.
“Bad hires tend to happen when businesses are unable to take the time required to plan a process, assess candidates and do their due diligence, which leads to rushed decisions and making the wrong compromises, especially in today’s tight market.”
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