Career in hospitality not on young people's menu

Of 1,000 young adults (16-24yrs) questioned nationally, nearly half (43%) said they would not consider hospitality as a career option. Two in five said they felt the work would be boring and repetitive, nearly a third (29%) said the industry wasn’t forward-looking enough, and one in five felt it wouldn’t use their technology skills and knowledge of the internet and social media. A third (33%) felt their skills would be better suited to an office environment ‘with modern technology’.

Industry experts cite misunderstanding of the jobs on offer as a major barrier.

The research also found that young adults in the North of England were more willing to consider hospitality and leisure jobs than those in the South, despite the South having a proliferation of tourism and hospitality businesses. Of every ten young adults asked, six in Northern England would consider a hospitality job, compared to only five in Southern regions.

Colin Tenwick, CEO of Livebookings, the European l provider of online restaurant reservations, which commissioned the research, said:“The relevance of technology in a hospitality role isn’t instantly clear to the generation of young adults now entering the workplace, who have grown up with the internet and almost all own smartphones. But in fact, the majority of restaurants, bars and hotels have a clear commitment to marketing themselves online, and responding to changing consumer behaviour by taking internet and mobile bookings.”

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