Chef shortage in WA a ‘matter of urgency’
A Federal Government crackdown on 457 visas, a lack of incentives for restaurant owners to take on apprentices and the WA Government’s decision to discard the list that fast-tracked overseas workers to WA are all contributing to a shortage of chefs in Western Australia.
The situation is most severe in regional WA with only two in every five chef vacancies filled, according to figures from the Federal Government’s Department of Jobs and Small Business.
Speaking to the West Australian, Hospitality Group Training general manager Iain McDougall said fewer people are signing up to become apprentices.
“Within the next three years we will need an additional 3000 cooks and chefs but based on current numbers of apprenticeships in the system, we will only have another 60 chefs a year,” he said.
“In the short term we need to relax visa restrictions for overseas chefs. In the long term we need to invest in training. New South Wales and Victoria are doing fee-free training, but in WA it costs an employer $6000 over three years to take on an apprentice.”
The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) chief executive Bradley Wood said the shortage of skilled workers could force some venues to close.
“The combination of low apprenticeship completion rates and tightened skilled migration programs has left the industry without the necessary pipeline of chefs and cooks,” said Wood.
Sheridan Randall, 27th May 2019
