Possible shortage of catering staff when cafes and restaurants open | Inland

Due to the long-term closure of catering companies, many employees have left the sector. According to the Stichting Vakbekwaamheid Horeca (SVH), 466,000 people were employed in the hospitality industry before the corona crisis. Now there are 340,000.

With the current rules for the limited opening of terraces next week, there are still enough employees for the time being, says Jimmy Sprokkerees, manager at De Staat beach club in The Hague. But he won’t be able to train new people for the beach weather right now, if more relaxations may come. “Fifty people on the terrace are very few for a beach club. But we are not currently generating enough turnover to keep a fully-fledged team working and to hire new people for the coming period. ”

According to the SVH knowledge center for the hospitality industry, one in five employees left the hospitality industry during the corona crisis. “Hospitality entrepreneurs can now offer their employees almost nothing, so some have started looking for other work, for example in healthcare,” says director Ricardo Eshuis. Last June, when we were allowed to reopen, we already had a lot of trouble filling the gaps in the grids. ” According to Eshuis, it is not yet possible to gauge whether employees are returning. “Moreover, the number of catering establishments has not decreased in the crisis, but more have been added.”

Structural shortage

Before the corona crisis, the catering industry was also struggling with a structural staff shortage. According to FNV board member Edwin Vlek, this was partly because the catering industry is one of the lowest paying sectors and many employees have a flex contract. There is also a shortage of skilled workers, such as chefs. “The intake in MBO catering courses is declining sharply. In the future, the biggest restrictive measure will not be the virus, but the staff shortage. ”

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