More locals to give tourists a warm welcome?

Wednesday 28 January 2015

We’ve got hundreds of hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions dotted around the Island but there’s still a big shortage of locals trained up to work in them.

The States are working to change that and want to get as many out of work locals trained up in the hospitality industry ready to welcome tourists this season.

The Back to Work team have been speaking to all the Island’s key players within hospitality and hope they’ll all be willing to open their doors and welcome locals to learn on the job.

It’s a good deal for employers who won’t have to pay their new recruits’ salaries for up to eight weeks but the States hope they’ll be kept on at the end of it and it will lead to a good career in the industry.

Social Security Minister Deputy Susie Pinel said: “We understand that it takes time to train and develop new staff and this new structured approach aims to give employers the freedom to train according to their business needs, and gives jobseekers the skills required to succeed in the industry.

“At the end of the eight weeks it is our hope that the trainees will have gained essential skills, and an understanding of the industry, and the employers will have valued members of staff who are ready for the busy hospitality season.”

"There are loads of different jobs in hospitality to choose from and although it can be quite anti-social hours", a Back to Work spokesman said, "it’s a vibrant industry to be in, has something for everybody and this new programme is a great way to forge a career in it."

Economic Development Minister Senator Lyndon Farnham said: “The hospitality industry is an important sector which contributes a great deal to Jersey’s economy. This is an important opportunity for the industry to utilise States support to train staff that they might not otherwise have considered. I very much hope that the scheme is successful and helps to introduce more locally qualified staff to the sector.”