Popular tourist spots across Majorca face potential disruption as restaurant owners warn of a severe labour crisis on the Spanish island. Hospitality bosses say the region's culinary talent pool has been “destroyed,” forcing venues to rethink how they operate.
Sector leaders are pushing for a return to in-company apprenticeship schemes to address a shortage of qualified staff, soaring absenteeism and changing worker attitudes since the pandemic. Owners report that finding skilled workers is now almost impossible, with basic qualification standards virtually disappearing from the industry.
Staff shortages and absenteeism
Industry bosses point to shifting workforce priorities and a decline in commitment among younger staff, who increasingly prefer to work intensely during the summer season before claiming unemployment benefits for the rest of the year. This has left proprietors admitting a clear preference for hiring “40-year-olds with mortgages” who “offer more stability and commitment” than unreliable 20-somethings, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.
Rampant absenteeism and sick leave have reached staggering levels, with some venues reporting up to almost a third of their staff missing at once. This increases workloads for remaining employees and threatens daily service across the island.
“It's the worst thing that can happen to a restaurant. I've had up to 30% of my staff on sick leave,” said César Amable of PIMEM-Restauracion, adding that a significant portion is related to mental health issues.
Call for apprenticeship reform
Industry heads from employers' associations CAEB Restaurants Mallorca and PIMEM have warned that current vocational training models have completely failed. Juan Miguel Ferrer, president of CAEB, compared the situation to a top football club losing its entire pipeline: “It's like if FC Barcelona were to lose its youth academy. You'd be missing all those young players and you'd have to recruit from elsewhere.”
Mr Amable insisted that bringing back hands-on apprenticeships is “fundamental” to rebuilding that pipeline, warning that previous efforts through classroom vocational training “haven't worked.”
Proposed solutions
Business leaders are demanding an overhauled system that allows staff to learn on the job while offering realistic hiring costs for trainees. Under current rules, venue owners argue it is unsustainable to pay an unseasoned apprentice the same wages and social security contributions as a fully qualified waiter.
Senior staff also reportedly lack the motivation to train newcomers when pay remains identical across the board. Instead, hospitality bosses are calling for flexible six-to-twelve-month apprenticeship frameworks to help rebuild the island's struggling service industry from the ground up.
