Summer hospitality jobs provide key ‘social skills’

Summer hospitality jobs provide key ‘social skills’

Simon Soar, chief executive of the Jersey Hospitality Association, spoke out to underline the benefits of summer jobs in the industry for students, regardless of their eventual career path.

Mr Soar said that many operators within the industry had urgent recruitment needs that young Islanders were ideally placed to fill.

‘The experience that can be gained transcends hospitality and it’s something that everyone should do,’ he said. ‘The core skills of hard work, time management and customer service are fully transferable to other industries.

‘We hope that a summer job may be the start of a long career in hospitality for some people, but this won’t always be the case and lots of people who have senior roles in finance or business have benefited from experience gained in hospitality.

‘Interacting with customers is a really good way of developing people skills, especially for young people who spend a lot of time looking at their phone screens rather than communicating face-to-face.’

Work in hospitality was also far more flexible than
people might think, Mr Soar added.

‘Employers are definitely willing to be flexible – if people are worried about their social lives, they needn’t be, and they’ll have money in their pockets to spend when they do go out.

‘There are so many different options – you can work breakfast or lunchtime shifts and have the rest of the day off,
or if you’re a night owl then there is evening work in restaurants or nightclubs. And working in hospitality is invariably good fun. You hardly ever hear of people not enjoying their work.’

The JHA’s message has been supported by Jersey Finance. Deputy chief executive Amy Bryant said: ‘The finance industry’s employee network is diverse and is made up of Islanders from different backgrounds, with varied work experience and at different stages in their career journey.

‘We recognise the importance of transferable skills such as communication, critical thinking and teamwork gained in careers outside our industry and these skills, combined with a great attitude, can present a world of opportunity for jobseekers.’

The JHA can put would-be recruits in contact with employers. Those interested in learning about current vacancies should email jobs@jerseyhospitality.com.

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