Why Hire an International Trainee?

It’s no secret that the Australian hospitality industry is on it’s knees. Recruiting hospitality staff pre-pandemic was already tough. Dwindling apprenticeships and an industry PR crisis meant that Food & Accommodation job vacancies rose by 66% in 2021. Combine that with ABS data showing an annual 10.6% increase in the catering sector for 2021. Between May 2020 and Feb 2022, the proportion of vacancies reported by Accommodation and food services rose 30% (abs).

None of this is new information right? Employers and venue owners feel like they are really having to play the long game at the moment, to even feel like there's a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. I know many owner operators who are up to their elbows in dishes or bogged down restocking fridges and changing kegs. Who’s working ‘on’ the business whilst the leadership teams are neck deep ‘in’ the business operation?

This is where I urge my clients to take a step back and approach their team with a ‘top of skill’ perspective. This means each of your team members concentrating on tasks that are skill specific to their role, and losing the bits that can be redistributed or delegated. This type of streamlining and productivity workshopping needs to be undertaken in tandem with the people involved. What you are doing here is improving the productivity of your entire team but ensuring that the specialists you hired for specific roles are able to focus on excelling. The thing is though, if you are at the point where you are reviewing productivity and delegation your team likely need more support… and here we are back to the beginning- an industry on it’s knees- with a skills shortage and a looming wage increase.

Don’t discount the value a really good international trainee can have on your workplace. With some careful organisation and some re-configuration of tasks, a trainee can relieve the pressure from your skilled leadership teams. We have worked with teams to restructure their daily and weekly prep, and planned bulk cooking methods to maximise trainee productivity and free-up business leaders. 

Whilst many of the international trainees we place are new to the workforce, they are receptive and open to training and mentoring. As hotel school graduates they have already committed themselves to a career in hospitality. The significant personal investment they have made is usually reflected in their attitude and commitment to the industry.

My next blog post will discuss ‘top of skill’ in more detail. If you’d like to discuss hiring an international trainee, and how it can be a cost effective injection to your business, contact us today.