It used to be pretty easy for Alex Wrethman to find chefs. The restaurateur would stick an ad online and wait for the CVs to flood in. These days, he must work a lot harder — and even fight rivals for good staff. “It’s such a tough market, we need to get competitive,” he said. “You don’t necessarily want to walk into a restaurant round the corner and start dropping business cards, but if that’s what it takes . . .” Wrethman estimates 10% of the positions at his three upmarket bistros are vacant, and describes marathon three-day sessions trawling LinkedIn for candidates. He draws parallels with the football transfer market, describing one of his managers as “a bit of a Mourinho” for his aggressive
Redrow CEO John Tutte has lamented a shortage of bricklayers in the country, warning the skills gap could make the government's housing targets difficult to meet. Tutte acknowledged that building a skilled workforce is difficult in a cyclical industry, but also highlighted an image problem; despite an average salary of £36,679 ($50,900) - up to £60,000 in high-demand areas - and annual pay increases of over 10%, young adults don't see it as prestigious, said Tutte. The company hopes to change that with the recent launch of the UK's first housebuilding degree at Liverpool John Moores University.