Barcats collaborates with multi-national company to boost Australian hospitality industry training

The demand for training hospitality workers has led Barcats - one of Australia’s leading hospitality platforms - to join forces with multi-national beverage company Diageo to boost training in Australia to help the industry.

Jeffrey Williams, Chief Executive and founder of Barcats, says the courses are so popular managers at host venues are snapping up raw recruits only hours into their training, noting “the demand for training hospitality workers is unprecedented. We have had to increase the number of our courses to help the industry out.

“We are giving the opportunity for all Aussies to help the industry by doing quality training so they can secure a great job. We have more than 1,000 jobs on our platform waiting to be filled.”

Diageo - which operates globally in more than 180 countries - has invested $11.5 million into Australian training programs. Angus McPherson, Managing Director of Diageo Australia advised that the company had invested money into training programs, including those run by Barcats such as the Bar Essential Course, to train and upskill workers to help the hospitality industry.

The Bar Essentials course, where people can learn the fundamental skills of working behind a bar, is designed by Diageo Bar Academy. During the 90-minute course, attendees learn basic skills such as glass handling, mixing drinks, expert pouring and consistency of service.

Training is conducted by bartenders working in some of the most popular bars around Australia, hand-picked for the course because of their extensive experience and skills base.

McPherson adds “this initiative is part of our new global program ‘Raising the Bar’, which is designed to support pubs and bars welcoming back customers and recovering following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The quicker people are trained, the quicker the industry and the broader Australian economy can get back to normal - a win for both employees and businesses.”

Applejack Hospitality spokesman Matt Jenkins shared “It’s great we can offer a place like The Butler Potts Point to help support the training efforts that Diageo and Barcats are undertaking for the betterment of our industry.

“I’m hopeful these courses will lead to continued interest and open the door to further development and a long career working in the hospitality industry.”

The move for more training was also backed by the General Manager and Licensee of the popular The Woollahra Hotel, Simon Barbato, who said he now had to pay a significant spotters fee to find staff - $1500 for full time staff and $750 for casuals.

Williams said hospitality venues around Australia were boosting the pay packets of thousands of workers in a bid to attract and retain workers, with some being paid hundreds, and, in some cases, thousands of dollars more because of the severe skills shortage in the industry.

“The shortage is so dire there is considerable poaching of staff within the industry,” he said.

“63% of venues around Australia* report having to pay staff significantly more than usual to attract or retain them.

“This means that a qualified bartender who, before COVID, would earn about $26 an hour may now earn $50 an hour. Likewise, some qualified kitchen hands have seen their hourly wage increase from $26 an hour pre-pandemic to $42 now.”

Williams said he had also heard of a chef working in the Central Coast, in NSW, demanding $35,000 a year more - just to do the same job.

“As well, a chef in a Victorian restaurant recently walked out mid-shift to go to another job after being offered a significant pay rise,” he said,

"Some people are offering bar managers a $10,000 sign on bonus; others give people a $500 tab if they refer staff to the venue and some are offering top staff a share in the business to either entice them to join or stay.”

* Barcats Industry Insights Report 2022, conducted around Australia last month.

Find out more at www.barcats.com.au  

Image: Tom Gay attending a training course at The Marlborough Hotel in Newtown