Sky City NZ goes shopping – for chefs!
A report in the NZ Herald says that the country is facing such a shortage of qualified chefs that Sky City has had to undertake an international recruitment campaign in Britain, Europe, the United States, South Africa and Pacific Islands.
NZ industry experts say that New Zealand is short of about 1200 chefs and with tourism growing, many chefs are being asked to work overtime on a regular basis to help compensate for the skills gap.
Sky City is hoping to recruit chefs wanting to spend a year or two experiencing the Kiwi lifestyle and work in its restaurants, with its head of human resources, Paul McKloskey, saying his plan includes attracting 75 chefs to work for Sky City within the next two and a half years and he has the support of the Department of Immigration, adding that the company has been granted approval by the government to hire chefs from Britain and Pacific Island regions.
“It’s apparently the first time something like this has been approved for this sector and only the second time the government has agreed on such a large-scale recruitment drive outside New Zealand,” said McKloskey, adding, Sky City needs more than 200 chefs to work in its 18 bars and restaurants; the convention centre kitchens, two hotels and its catering division.
He added, “It’s going to be an ongoing campaign and seventy five people is not that many, but we are hoping that the success of this campaign and the benefit to our operation, together with the flow-on effect to other hospitality sectors of having this influx of people, will encourage the immigration department to increase the number for pre-approval for us and other large organisations”
“The skill level of chefs we are looking for are those with a little experience to up to five years experience and we are open to people who want to take the offer as an entry into New Zealand as there will be plenty of opportunities – they will find they will advance pretty quickly as there is a high turnover of chefs and opportunities come up frequently.”
Chef Gary Miller is Business Development and Media Director of the New Zealand Chefs’ Association, a national organisation representing professional chefs in New Zealand and he says the key reason for the shortage is that many Kiwi-trained chefs head offshore to work in places such as Australia, Britain and Europe for three to four years after qualifying, adding, “The shortage of chefs is not just an issue for New Zealand, it’s a worldwide problem and everyone is competing for good staff.”
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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