By Tiisetso Motsoeneng
Hotels and gaming group Southern Sun says the hospitality sector is facing an acute skills shortage, but the industry would be ready for the 2010 World Cup.
"The one thing that keeps me awake at night is the lack of skills. If the required skills are not developed, growth will be impeded and service standards will drop," said Helder Pereira, managing director Southern Sun Hotels.
Pereira said the industry needed 24 100 chefs and cooks, 23 500 waitrons, 8 000 managers and 7 800 cashiers. He added that the seriousness of the situation had led to the industry picking up unemployed graduates in other fields and putting them through an apprentice programme.
The shortage of these critical skills comes just two years ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, but Pereira is confident that the industry will cope even if the skills are imported.
A total of 75% of Southern Sun's inventory will has been contracted to MATCH Event Services, the officially appointed company to manage the Fifa 2010 housing bureau. Six of Southern Sun's top hotels, including Sandton Sun and InterContinental Sandton Towers, are official Fifa hotels.
Source: I-Net Bridge
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
