15:00 11th May 2022
“The early opening of the borders is necessary and not a moment too soon. They have clearly read the room, and realised they need to do something about our dwindling workforce and fast,” says Marisa Bidois, CEO of the Restaurant Association.
“Our industry desperately needs skilled workers and with more tourists set to arrive, our businesses need to be operating at 100 per cent to help our sector recover.
“Those coming in on student and working holiday visas make up a critical part of our workforce so we need to start getting those people into the country long before our summer high season.
“94% of our members have indicated that they’ve found it extremely difficult to recruit for mid-high level positions. Businesses should be able to rely on the immigration lever when talent cannot be found in the country.
“Data from Student Job Search (SJS) noted a 52% decrease in applicants for hospitality work in Auckland since October 2021, and a 34% drop nationally. Without the ability to access a migrant talent pool, hospitality proprietors are making serious sacrifices, by not operating at full capacity at a time when there is so much accumulated debt to pay back.
“Whilst the transition arrangement on the immigration rebalance settings for hospitality sounds promising, we look forward to hearing more details on what that looks like.
“The announcement to extend some essential skills visas is also welcome news for our sector.
“We still have a number of ongoing concerns around the rebalance settings and what this will mean for our industry, and we look forward to meeting with Ministers in the coming weeks to further discussions about the future of hospitality in Aotearoa.”