Population and immigration in relation to hospitality market in the UK Essay

Population and immigration in relation to hospitality market in the UK - Essay Example People1st, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the hospitality, leisure, travel, and tourism sector, UK, envisages an additional 15,000 new jobs between 2002 and 2012, in addition to the 846,000 replacement jobs lost through labor turnover. AGCAS also believes industry will require 30,000-35,000 trained people at management and supervisory level year on year until 2010. Meeting labor requirement is a perennial problem in the industry. This essay will examine why this sector is not popular with the British local people and why there are so many immigrants in this industry. The rationale for the labor requirement can partly be attributed to the Olympic Games being held in London in 2012 (People 1st). According to Lockwood and Guernier (1990), Travel and Tourism analysts, hospitality sector in the developed countries are experiencing labor shortages and can expect to face greater shortages in the future (cited by Choi et al, 2000). The world has shrunk due to advanced technologies and hence finding labor round the globe is easier than it used to be. Due to globalization and free market economy, the recruitment strategy too has to undergo change. Migration of labor worldwide in the hospitality industry is very common. According to People 1st, 11 percent employers find it difficult to fill up the vacancies, as there are not enough people interested in the jobs. Not many skilled people can be found in this industry, and this is a customer-driven industry. Customer satisfaction in this industry is vital. This sector traditionally recruits a young workforce yet the biggest challenge that this sector faces is that of skills shortages. Skills in this industry range from the unskilled porter to the highly skilled managers. The majority comprises the unskilled staff including the food and bar service staff, semi-skilled including the commercial and clerical staff and the kitchen staff (Choi et al). While