As the UK prepares for the reopening of restaurants on 12th April allowing venues to serve food and drink outdoors, we wanted to reflect on the impact that Covid has had on the hospitality industry and look forward to what the future has in store for those working in this sector.
Restaurants and cafes have seen the most temporary closures than any other industry in the UK with around 84% of all businesses in the sector closing their doors and 69% of staff being furloughed according to Business Rescue Expert. In a survey carried out by The Caterer, around 76% of hospitality workers felt confident about returning to work and serving customers face-to-face, and 95% of consumers felt safe in hospitality venues during times where they were able to visit last year.
As vaccinations are rolled out across the country, most people are feeling positive about the UK being able to follow the Government’s roadmap to reopening hospitality venues in stages over the coming months. If everything goes to plan, we may see indoor catering and hotels reopening on 17th May. This is exciting for those working in the hospitality industry and consumers alike, as everyone is looking forward to being able to go back to some sort of normal while being safe and following the Government’s guidelines.
The Fleece in Witney is the perfect example of how a restaurant has needed to adapt over the last year. We spoke to Egita Jirgensone, Deputy Manager of The Fleece, who told us what the team have been up to and how they are preparing to reopen.
“We got involved in some baking for key workers during the lockdown by delivering baked goods to schools, nurseries, hospitals, post offices, shops, the police station and the fire station for the people who have been working throughout the pandemic. Most of the team got involved and felt really good about being able to contribute to the community.
We are now busy with planning our reopening and the summer; thinking of new ways we can make outings to the pub for people even more enjoyable (not forgetting the safety measures of course). We are also very much looking forward to seeing all our regulars and finding out what they have been up to during lockdown - there might be some tears of joy involved!”
Studies show that around 650,000 hospitality sector jobs were lost during 2020 due to the pandemic. If your career has been sadly put on hold due to Covid, you have lost your job, or you want to adapt your transferable skills, our Recruitment Specialist, Ruth Davies, can help you with CV writing and career coaching. You can find out more about the services we provide on our website, and can hear how we can help you from one of our clients:
“After many years of working within the live events industry, I decided it was time to update my CV to open it up to a different sector. Ruth’s approach was perfect for me, she helped me totally transform my CV from something that didn't flow well into a much more consistent read. She also helped me understand the terminology used in the job descriptions. All this combined gave me the confidence to apply for roles I never thought I could.”
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