Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 6 April 2022
Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media
Working Conditions and Skills Shortages in Tourism and Hospitality Sector: Discussion (Resumed)
Mr. Paul Kelly:
There is no silver bullet. The solution is a combination of providing work permits for non-EU workers. Both Mr. Fenn and Mr. Cummins have eloquently outlined the issues and I will not add to that.
In terms of recruiting from within the market, Ms De Saulles will talk about the approach that we are taking. We have a marketing recruitment campaign that is about to kick off. We have ran campaigns and we will run more. The solution is a combination of those campaigns but, importantly, it is also a combination regarding the reputation of employers in the industry. We know from our research that 70% of people are very happy with their employment in the industry, enjoy going to work and see tourism as a long-term career option. That is a very good percentage but it could be higher and we want it to be higher. These positive aspects will attract more people. The career prospects are fantastic in terms of the ability to travel, grow, move into bigger roles and quickly move up the career progression ladder. All of that exists in the industry but there is an element of ensuring that people consistently see and understand that.
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