Question reference: S6W-01919
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 28 July 2021
-
Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 August 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to help ensure that hospitality businesses in (a) Edinburgh and (b) nationally have sufficient staffing cover.
Answer
We recognise the serious and immediate recruitment issues being experienced by the sector. Tourism and hospitality businesses have been extremely hard hit by the pandemic and the ability to employ committed, talented and enthusiastic staff will be an important part of the recovery, not just in Edinburgh but throughout the whole of Scotland.
To address recruitment issues, we are working with key sector organisations in the public and private sector to support a recruitment marketing campaign. This was launched on the 5 th July. In the first three weeks of the campaign, there has been 12,223 new users on the Career Scope website, where we are signposting people to find available jobs.
The campaign will promote a range of roles within the industry and help people find a job that suits different skill sets. It will support businesses fill staff shortages that have occurred as a result of Brexit and encourage those aged 18-30 to play their part in helping businesses recover from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by applying their skills to the diverse job opportunities available now.
The campaign has been developed in conjunction with the sector, and lead partner the Scottish Tourism Alliance, and is supported by £100,000 of Scottish Government funding.