Although there are more employees than before the pandemic, there are currently 14,400 vacancies in the Austrian tourism industry. The Ministry of Economic Affairs now wants to place advertisements on Instagram and Facebook to make it attractive for young people to enter the industry.
Examples are professions such as cook and receptionist. An average of 220,000 people were employed in tourism in the first five months of the year, Minister of Economic Affairs and Labor Martin Kocher (ÖVP) said on Monday. However, according to a study by the IHS, only a quarter of workers work year-round in industry. There are currently 14,400 vacancies in tourism.
Due to the fluctuations depending on the time of day, day of the week or season, there is no easy solution to the shortage of skilled workers, said IHS director Klaus Neusser. According to him, it takes about a longer season to get permanent jobs. In addition, immigration from abroad should be made easier, as the local population can no longer meet demand at peak times. Most recently, the small majority (54.3 percent) of employees were non-Austrian (Austrian citizens, note). Two-thirds came from the EU.
Need childcare during off-peak hours
As a further suggestion, he brought more childcare into play, if possible also on weekends. NEOS tourism spokeswoman Julia Seidl can get something out of that. “Across the board, childcare is also the most important thing in tourism – especially for women, especially for weekend and shift work, especially with the industry’s high part-time rate,” she said in a broadcast.
However, the development proves that tourism is not a “refugee industry,” Kocher said. His ministry is planning an image campaign with advertisements on Instagram and Facebook. Secretary of State for Tourism, Susanne Kraus-Winkler, campaigns in particular for students. Last year there were 7,000 newcomers, but 15 years ago there were still 15,000. At the time, IHS director Neusser pointed out that many people drop out of their apprenticeships because they see only a few companies as cheap labor. The good training companies should be brought “in front of the curtain”.
Apprentices remain in the industry throughout the year and for extended periods of time. Measured over the year, 500,000 people are registered as working in tourism for at least one day.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
