New survey reveals most of Australia’s hospitality staff have lost confidence in the Industry

May 14, 2020

A new survey conducted on behalf of Barcats, one of Australia’s leading hospitality platforms, has shown that 93.33% of Australia’s hospitality staff have lost confidence in the industry, reporting they would transfer to another industry if it meant getting back to work quicker.

The survey of 360 hospitality staff in Australia found that hospitality staff are not convinced that the industry will recover post COVID-19, with 42.22% reporting that venues will struggle to re-open.

Barcats Founder and Chief Executive, Jeffrey Williams explains “with Coronavirus restrictions starting to ease, we have seen an increase in hospitality venues looking for staff as they prepare to reopen in the current environment. This is the best time to review what staff requirements and capabilities is required to operate in this new challenging environment in a safe way.

“We have been working closely with government agencies and industry bodies including Australian Hotels Association and Restaurant and Caterers Association to rebuild confidence in the industry and ensure that we can all move forward together.

“Tens of thousands of international staff that we relied upon have had to return to their home countries and this will create a big gap in the market. We now have 71,000 staff eager to fill roles as quickly as possible and practices such as downloading the COVID safe app will help us in getting everyone back to work quicker.

“New South Wales’ hospitality staff are the most pessimistic with 94.12% ready to switch industries in order to get back to work quicker and 46.32% stating that venues are going to struggle to reopen because of the impact of this global pandemic.

“Whereas Victoria’s and Queensland’s hospitality staff are slightly more optimistic that the industry will recover from COVID-19, with a lower 92.86% of Queenslanders ready to move away from the industry and 91.67% of Victorians.

“Just 37.96% of Victoria’s hospitality workers believe venues will struggle to re-open, showing that Victoria has the most hope that it’s bustling hospitality industry will return.

Williams adds “the nation’s head chefs, managers and supervisors are sticking by their industry and riding it out more than any other role with 88.73% reporting they would consider working in another industry, compared to 90.20% of chefs, cooks and mixologists, 95.74% of barista’s, bartender’s and wait staff, and 96% of food runners, dish hands, bar backs and cleaners.

“Hospitality staff aged 35-44 have the least confidence in the industry with 96.97% willing to change careers to get back to work faster, compared to 91.43% of 45-54-year-old’s, 92.97% of 25-34-year-old’s and 93.44% 18-24-year-olds.

“Less than a third (27.87%) of 18-24-year-olds believe that venues will struggle to re-open post COVID-19 and clearly have the highest confidence that the industry will return to its former glory.

Williams continues “47.74% of Australian residents and citizens believe that the biggest challenge facing the industry post COVID-19 will be that venues will struggle to re-open. This compares to 42.20% of those on student visas and just 36.11% of those on working holiday or temporary visas who clearly are more optimistic that venues can reopen and thrive.”

“That said, hospitality staff on student visas are the most likely to actively seek jobs in other industries to get back to work quickly (97.25%) compared to 90.97% of Australian residents and citizens and 93.06% of working holiday or temporary visas.”

For more information go to www.barcats.com.au

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