Many hospitality workers struggle with language and numeracy skills.
Your waiter this evening is probably a woman aged over 25 years, may well have not been born in New Zealand, and could have difficulty adding up your bill, research released by the hospitality industry shows.
Hospitality had seen unprecedented growth in recent years, with 20 per cent
more people employed in the sector than five years ago, Hospitality Standards Institute chief executive Steve Hanrahan said.
A survey of the make-up of the industry showed restaurants and bars had become more reliant on migrant labour than ever, with one in three hospitality workers born outside New Zealand - up from a quarter of all workers in a similar study in 2001.
An employers survey released alongside the labour force research showed the impact of migrant workers was generally seen as positive, but that training opportunities needed to be made available for such workers, especially if English was not their first language.
"Ineffective delivery of workplace programmes has not adequately addressed language barriers and the resultant miscommunication that occurs. Industry is keenly aware of the need to develop streamlined and effective language training for staff that require it," the report said.
Employers also said a drop in basic numeracy and literacy skills was a major issue for all workers in the industry.
"It was noticed particularly in key practical areas like recipe multiplying or bill summary ... many workplaces are finding it hard to rely on staff to perform simple numeracy and literacy tasks," the report said.
Well served
* Almost 136,000 people worked in hospitality last year, 6.4 per cent of the workforce: 62 per cent are women, 51 per cent are full-time, 49 per cent part-time and 40 per cent are aged under 25.
* 45.7 per cent work in pubs, cafes and restaurants. 24.4 per cent work in accommodation, with the remainder in takeaways, catering and clubs. Almost half have only school qualifications, and 20 per cent have no qualifications.
* Nearly 21,000 businesses make up the hospitality industry.
