Australia’s baby boomers are increasingly targeting roles in pubs, clubs, restaurants and bars, according to job seeking platform Barcats.
Barcats CEO and Founder, Jeffrey Williams said over the last four months there has been a 187 per cent increase nationally in the number of over 50s joining its community and wanting work.
“Since April 2020, NSW has experienced the biggest leap in signups from over 50’s with a 254 per cent increase, followed by Queensland with a 212 per cent increase. Victoria’s increase is significantly lower at 86 per cent,” Williams said.
He added: “Mature workers often have a strong work ethic and are super reliable and this is exactly what we need in the industry right now where venues are battling with younger staff not willing to work because they’re comfortable on Job Keeper and Job Seeker
“Mature workers are going to play a key role in rebuilding our hospitality industry and more venues need to be flexible in their approach to hiring to make this work. They will need to embrace the casualisation of the workforce and offer shorter shifts such as splitting the chef role into two or three jobs throughout the day.
“Over 141,000 working holiday makers were living in Australia in December last year and a many of these people were working in our local bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels. This workforce has now returned to their home countries and there are no new backpackers are on the cards for a while.
“We’re faced with a significant staff and skills shortage in the hospitality industry that will ultimately impact the number of businesses that will be able to re-open and sustain through the summer and Christmas periods.”
Barcats is currently offering practical free training for the over 50s through its partners Ananas, Diageo, Lion, Brown-Forman, Nestle, Treasury Wines and Allara Learning.
Williams said: “More venues need to give this experienced generation and untapped workforce a chance to help rebuild our industry.”