But it’s not just restaurants affected by the current international worker shortages. Delaware North,which provides catering at major sporting grounds such as the MCG and Rod Laver Arena,has been struggling to get enough staff ahead of the looming football season which kicks off with Wednesday night’s season opener between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.
Delaware North managing director Gary Brown said the company would usually have about 3000 workers on hand for a full-capacity event at the MCG but the business was expecting to be a few hundred people short.
“This is not a Melbourne-wide or Victoria-wide issue – it’s a nationwide and industry-wide issue that is affecting the entire hospitality industry on a never-before-seen scale,” he said.
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“Hundreds of thousands of temporary visa holders left Australia over the past few years,many of them from the hospitality industry. Unfortunately,we are not yet seeing an influx of them returning,which is one of the main factors driving the current staffing shortage.”
Staff shortages across the retail and hospitality space have been a persistent issue through the pandemic,with increasing case numbers from the Delta and Omicron strains of the virus putting significant strain on the labour market through the end of last year.
International staff being hired to work at Rockpool and its stable of restaurants are set to arrive at the end of the month and will be provided with visas,airfares and temporary accommodation. They will be split equally between the company’s upmarket restaurants and more casual dining options.