Hired! 100 Kenyan professionals to save Jersey hospitality

Friday 06 December 2019

Nearly 100 Kenyan graduates have been hired to shore up Jersey's short-staffed hospitality industry as part of a push run by a local recruitment company.

GR8 Recruitment’s delegation to Nairobi has selected 96 professionals to work on nine-month contracts starting early next year.

It comes after Jersey’s immigration policy was changed earlier this year to allow for 150 short-term seasonal work permits to ease the strain on the hospitality industry.

Due to difficulties with recruiting within the Common Travel Area of the EU, it was decided that Jersey recruiters should look further afield. 

Pictured: The recruitment company ran a rigorous interview process (GR8 Recruitment).

Now, the recruitment process has turned up almost 100 qualified professionals from Kenya who can work in the island within the non-EU hospitality work permit permissions. Those with a permit will have to leave once it expires, and will not be able to return for another three months. 

The recruitment company found their successful candidates by interviewing a pool of around 200 hopefuls who were part of the Kenyan Utalli College’s Alumni Association.

To qualify for the rigorous interview process, candidates had to have:

• an accreditation from a recognised hospitality training provider;
• a minimum of two years’ experience in the industry;
• the required documentation;
• a current Police check;
• consented to a health check prior to travelling to Jersey;
• a “true desire” to work in the island’s hospitality sector.

Some candidates travelled over 700 kilometres across the country to be interviewed in Nairobi for the Jersey roles.

The hopefuls represented 14 different professions within the hospitality industry including chefs, housekeepers, food and drink workers, receptionists as well as events and marketing professionals.

Pictured: Measures have been taken to support the struggling hospitality industry in Jersey.

After a round of group interviews, the candidates had to give group presentations about Jersey, its tourism sector and hospitality venues before undergoing one-to-one interviews.

Of the 137 which made it to the individual interviews, 96 were approved as the first cohort of Kenyan professionals available for placements in Jersey; a further 24 will be approved subject to the provision of documentation and references; and 17 were rejected at interview stage.