In this week’s column from the Jersey Hospitality Association (JHA), CEO Simon Soar explains why it can be hard attracting young talent to the hospitality industry when there are so many misconceptions about careers within it.
‘For this year’s Skills Show, we’ll have a variety of members from the JHA, representing everything from wholesale and hotels to spas. We’re making a conscious effort to ensure all areas of our industry will be represented because we need people, especially young people, to understand the breadth of opportunity in hospitality.
‘When young people are thinking about career choices, unless they want to be a chef, they can be put off by hospitality because they don’t understand the range of jobs that we can offer and the different skill sets and talents we need. We’re a bit like the Royal Navy advert – whatever job you want, you can find it in the Navy. It’s almost the same with hospitality.
Hospitality can offer a vibrant, well-paid career
‘People really don’t understand the opportunities for career progression that we can offer. You can make a really good living wage. People might associate hospitality with minimum wage but it’s like any other industry – if you have ambition and you put in the hard work, you can enjoy a vibrant, well-paid career.
‘Talking to young people at last year’s Skills Show, we were really pleased with the feedback and the positive impression we seemed to be making. And with more than 3,000 students coming along this year, it’s another fantastic opportunity to showcase what we do. We need to encourage more locals into the industry and stop people thinking that the only career they can do in Jersey is finance.’
