A city centre cafe received more than 100 in-person applicants for a part-time barista role, with hospitality leaders saying the turnout showed jobs are available and people are willing to fill them, but independent businesses need more Government support.
The Fig & Sparrow in Manchester's Northern Quarter held 'walk-in' interviews on Tuesday, October 13, after receiving more than 400 emails from applicants during a previous recruitment appeal. The cafe said it was 'doing it differently this time'.
Mass turnout highlights job market
Sacha Lord, formerly Greater Manchester's Night Time Economy Adviser, said more than 100 people turned up to fill the role. He said the cafe has 'people coming in every shift asking if there are any jobs going'.
"That's the job market right now," Mr Lord said. "People want to work and hospitality wants to hire them. The will is absolutely there. We just need the financial support to do so."
Writing on LinkedIn, Mr Lord applauded the cafe's move. Applicants were asked to bring their CVs for a 'face-to-face' interview, and the Fig & Sparrow said on Instagram that potential employees were also asked to bring a 'fun fact' about themselves.
Youth unemployment concerns
Mr Lord highlighted that "sixty per cent of young people who are not in education, employment or training right now have never had a job." He added: "Never had the opportunity to learn workplace etiquette, build relationships with colleagues, learn from managers, etc. Hospitality has always been the industry for young people starting their careers and it's heartbreaking to see so many operators priced out of giving people a chance, with our vacancies down seven per cent year-on-year."
The news comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the scale of youth unemployment an 'economic catastrophe and a moral failure' earlier this month, pledging action to get young people off benefits and into work.
Government support urged
Figures show almost a million 16 to 24-year-olds are neither earning nor learning, and Mr Burnham said the Government has a 'duty to do everything in its power' to ensure people who can work are in employment. Writing in The Times, he said the state must provide a 'safety net', but there had to be a 'fundamental change in the way the Government and society support young people'.
"We face a choice. We either invest in the success of our young people or pay for failure through the benefits system," he said. "We cannot afford to do both. I choose the first."
An estimated 981,000 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training (Neet) between April and June this year, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures, around one-in-eight people in that age group.
Mr Lord, writing ahead of next week's Budget, welcomed the Government's move to create 100,000 placements through partnerships with hospitality brands, but said it 'doesn't help the independents that want to hire yet simply can't afford to'. A national insurance reduction for those aged 16-24, he added, 'would be a good start'.
