Australian hospitality company looking to poach UK chefs

Australian Venue Co has launched a recruitment drive to lure UK chefs to fill vacancies for its summer season, inviting chefs to "skip winter this year".

The group, one of the biggest pub groups in Australia with more than 170 pubs, bars and venues around the country, has said it will help cover the costs of relocation including flights, hotel quarantine, two weeks of accommodation and $15,000 of an employer-sponsored visa.

The company is hiring in Sydney, Cairns, Darwin, Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne and is also offering a $1,000 welcome voucher for successful applicants.

According to The Guardian, the hospitality industry in Australia is suffering widespread staff shortages, in part due to the closure of its borders and the loss of international students and working holiday visa holders.

However, the UK hospitality industry is itself suffering a devastating staff shortage. The number of job vacancies in the UK accommodation and foodservice sector hit a record high in August following the easing of lockdown restrictions, with data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggesting there were 117,000 empty hospitality roles between May and July this year, the highest number since records began in 2001.