ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
The hospitality industry has slammed the Federal Government’s plan to more than double the cost of humanities degrees which some analysts say will hit the service sector especially hard.
More than 90% of all hospitality staff have a humanities degree, which is more often than not a job requirement for most front line staff in the industry.
As the cost of humanities degrees is set to more than double from next year, the hospitality industry is bracing for a serious drop off in new candidates.
The Gilhooly Group manage over 30 pubs and restaurants in Betoota and the company’s operations manager, Gregory Smoothgooch, is harbouring concerns over finding suitable employees for his venues moving forward.
“All of our bar staff have a 3-year bachelor degree in something like sociology or basketweaving,” he said.
“The hospitality industry is the great catch-all for people who didn’t do a real degree at university who think they’re above manual labour or a trade. We provide these arts graduates with a career. If these people are forced to do a real degree from the outset, where are our staff going to come from?”
“I think this is a real oversight by the Liberal Government. But I’m still going to vote for them.”
And to really rub salt into the wound, Smoothgooch says he won’t be able ti import the labour, either.
“Companies like us are fucked both ways.”
More to come.
