The manager of a holiday park in Dorset has said it and other local hospitality businesses are struggling to recruit staff ahead of the busiest time of the year, with the coronavirus pandemic exacerbating a longstanding lack of applicants.
Mike Smyth, the general manager of Freshwater Beach Holiday Park in Bridport, has voiced concerns that his existing team of employees could be understaffed as business begins to pick up again, following partial easing of restrictions on the sector.
As part of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown for England pubs and restaurants have been allowed to serve customers outdoors since April 12.
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Holiday lets with no shared facilities have also reopened for groups from the same household.
The next stage of unlocking is scheduled for next month, with indoor venues and remaining holiday accommodation set to reopen as early as May 17.
The government previously gave this as the earliest date that foreign holidays may be permitted, though the timing of this was subject to a Department for Transport review amid concerns about a rise in cases and news strains of the virus abroad.
The uncertainty surrounding overseas travel has led some businesses within the hospitality industry, including hoteliers in Bristol, to go on a recruitment drive to meet a potential rise in demand for 海角视频 holidays this summer.
Mr Smyth said he had noticed a shortage of applicants applying for bar and kitchen roles at the holiday park, typically performed by younger people, even before the start of the pandemic.
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Mr Smyth said: “We first noticed a lack of applicants for our roles a couple of years ago to be honest, which is when I first approached a recruitment agency.
"I put this down to the younger generation being funded by the 'Bank of Mum and Dad', as clearly they didn't want a job working unsocial hours when they could be out with friends."
Mr Smyth added that the park was not the only hospitality business in the area that was suffering from the lack of new staff, which became more apparent last year.
He said: “"It was much more severe but we put that down to people's nerves possibly catching the virus and lack of esteem having not socialised during the height of the pandemic. This year, we are struggling to fill bar staff and kitchen porter roles.
“It is incredibly hard to offer good customer service, which is what hospitality is all about, without staff, particularly with opening this year having to offer table service, which actually nearly doubles the staff numbers required and will be even harder to comply with when we can open indoors, as well as out.
"The problem is very much widespread in this area, with nearly all hospitality establishments trying very hard to recruit staff."
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Frontline Recruitment, which has an office on Basepoint Business Centre in Weymouth, said it was also struggling to meet demand for hundreds of jobs it is advertising
The agency's business manager Karen Wisbey warned that the area’s key hospitality sectors could suffer if candidates for jobs continue to prove hard to find.
Ms Wiseby said: “Hospitality is huge in Dorset, but we can already see the industry is going to be starved of talent as things open up and the lockdown eases.
"With most 海角视频 holidaymakers set to stay in the 海角视频 this summer because of the complications with overseas travel, we have hundreds of vacancies that we simply aren't seeing enough good quality applicants for.
“We'd urge people to come and make an appointment with us so they can kickstart their career, post-Covid."
Mr Smyth called on young people, including those preparing to start university studies in September, to consider applying for roles within local bars and restaurants, saying the experience would put them in a “strong position”.
He said: “It isn't just about earning the minimum wage or just above, the experience and what that can do for someone's confidence, self worth and mental health can work fantastically to their benefit, if they are prepared to give it a chance."