A housekeeping supervisor, a commis chef, a night porter; just some of the dozens of jobs within Cumbria’s tourism businesses currently on offer.
The battle to recruit and then retain good staff is a familiar one; the scale of the issue may come as a surprise.
Cumbria Tourism, the county’s tourism partnership, canvassed 79 businesses in late September and early October which revealed:
- Increasing wage costs continue to be a huge issue with 86% of businesses saying this is problematic (although down from 96% in a survey carried out six months ago).
- 76% of businesses say recruitment of staff is a problem (lower than 81% six months ago but still a large number).
- A lack of applicants is a problem for 72% of businesses, although this has fallen from 86% a year ago.
- As well as increasing wage costs, businesses are also faced with recruitment costs (43% finding this a problem) and agency costs (41% say this is a problem).
- Over half of tourism businesses (58%) say they are struggling to some degree to keep the staff they already have (and this has increased from 49% six months ago).
- Skills shortages remain a problem for 60% of businesses – unchanged in the last 12 months.
- Two thirds of businesses say that a lack of staff is limiting their business capacity.
- Over half (54%) say that staff shortages are reducing the quality of the visitor experience, up from 34% six months ago.
- 51% say staff shortages impact on profitability as well as increasing costs significantly (44%). For 27% it has also forced either temporary or partial closures and 22% of businesses say that staffing issues are affecting their future business viability.
- 64%-69% of tourism businesses face problems with public transport – timetables, frequency, coverage and connectivity – with around a third describing public transport issues as significant problems for their business.
- More than 70% of tourism businesses who employ staff have problems with a lack of affordable housing and private rental properties, as well as the cost of accommodation for employees.
- 63%-65% say that travel distances and the cost of travel for employees is an issue.
- Just under half (47%) struggle with a lack of on-site staff accommodation
Some businesses have been forced to take innovative steps to ensure they have enough staff to operate.
The Lakeside Hotel and Spa at Newby Bridge is among employers who have laid on a minibus to bring staff to work.
“We’ve been running a bus from the Furness peninsula for some time now – there are times when we need more than the eight seats we have,” Ben Mayou, general manager of the Lakeside, said.
The bus is driven by Mark O’Toole who collects staff from Barrow, Ulverston and Walney Island several times a day delivering them home later.
The Lakeside has also successfully ‘grown their own.’ Eight members of the hotel’s kitchen team joined as a result of work placements from Runshaw, Craven and Blackburn colleges as well as Huddersfield University.
Other staff are encouraged to gain level 2, 3 and 4 qualifications – learning while they earn.
Recently, students from Blackburn College studying a wide range of areas spent the day at the Lakeside to see the behind the scenes operations of a thriving hotel. The hope is such a visit will stimulate an interest in the industry when they complete their studies.
110 people are employed at the Lakeside, in a mix of full and part-time roles, and Ben Mayou says they enjoy a 75% retention rate although even here there are vacancies.
Across Windermere it’s a similar story.
Hargreaves Enterprises Ltd operate four venues in Bowness employing around 100 people during the peak season.
The company provides accommodation for some staff along with a percentage of takings as incentives.
“We’ve invested in accommodation in the village and that’s really helped us with our recruiting process,” Graham Hadaway, brand and marketing director, says.
“We also work with colleges locally and promote the apprenticeship degrees.”
While the sector is actively working to attract newly qualified members of staff it’s also keen to lure more mature workers. In September the Department for Work and Pensions released statistics that showed the inactivity in work of people aged 50-64 had increased to 27.4%.
Yet when it comes to having ‘people skills’, this age range is exactly the kind of employee businesses say they need.
“Any organisation needs a blend of skills and knowledge,” Ben said. “While some may not have the qualifications we’d be looking out for they do have life skills – the ability to make eye contact, start conversations easily, are conscientious and reliable.”
A new website – the TourismTalent Hub – has been launched aimed at showcasing jobs in the hope of making it easier for employers to find their employees of the future. The Cumbria Tourism initiative offers free listings and is regularly updated by a small team.
Another possible recruitment avenue is also being explored.
Lancaster Farms, on the outskirts of the city, opened in 1993 as a remand centre and young offender institution. In 2011, it changed from a category B YOI to a category C YOI training prison before becoming a category C resettlement prison for adults in 2014.
Cumbria Tourism staff have worked with the prison service to enable inmates approaching release to consider new roles in tourism. The initiative is still in its’ infancy and while Business Crack understands no inmates have taken on roles in Cumbria there is confidence that the scheme will attract support in the future.
Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron says he believes more needs to be done at grass roots level to support the communities where employees of all ages come from.
“So many of our businesses are struggling to recruit staff because there are simply not enough places for their staff to live,” the MP said. “We desperately need to see more homes built which are at an affordable price to buy or rent.
“The Government must also change planning law for second homes and short-term lets to stop more existing homes becoming out of reach for local people.
“We definitely need to see more investment in skills and training. The long-awaited catering T-Level qualification had been frustrating delayed twice by the previous government, citing a failure to gain placements in the tourism and hospitality industry. The new government must work with local businesses to get this off the ground.
“And we need serious investment in public transport. The decision to hike the bus fare cap from £2 to £3 was really disappointing, but a bigger concern is that there are too many communities where there isn’t really a bus service at all. The Government should be giving our local councils the funding to support bus services so that people living in our rural areas are able to get to work.”
From laying on buses to providing accommodation, innovative ways of attracting staff will almost continue to be a feature for the foreseeable future. The hope is longer term help will enable the industry to cope with staffing challenges without having to pass on the costs to those who support it.
“Everyone in the Lake District in this sector knows that they have to have accommodation and it’s how you obtain it – we’ve got enough at the moment but we also know we may need more in the future and we’re preparing for that,” Graham Hadaway, brand and marketing director, Hargreaves Enterprises Ltd says.
- The Lake District Hotels Association has organised an informal drop-in session for people aged over 50 who are interested in work in tourism to be held at the Low Wood Hotel on Thursday December 5.
