UPMARKET hospitality businesses in the Highlands and Islands are warning that a lack of interest from young Scots and a diminishing immigrant workforce is leading to serious staff shortages.
Prominent members of the industry revealed to The Herald they are struggling to hire enough customer-facing employees despite the tough labour market.
The internationally-renowned Three Chimneys restaurant on Skye has needed extra front-of-house workers for a year but has not been able to attract candidates.
Owner Shirley Spear said a job advertised nationally received only one respondent.
She said: "We have specific difficulties as we are very remote and the number of people we can recruit locally fluctuates from year to year.
"I have some stunning staff at the moment but just not enough of them and I suspect that is the way it is throughout the trade.
"It never ceases to amaze me how few applicants there are for our jobs. We have a great employment structure, contracts and great staff accommodation.
"We are doing all the right things, including official training when possible, but nothing we do makes the work of recruitment any easier."
Lady Claire Macdonald, from the Michelin-starred Kinloch Lodge on Skye, is facing similar challenges. She said: "We have the jobs in customer-facing roles but we just don't have the people.
"To recruit dependable people who take real pride in the industry is nearly impossible.
"We have a handful of wonderful people who work with us but we need more and it seems to be getting more difficult."
Beppo Buchanan-Smith, owner of the five-star Isle of Eriska Hotel, said: "Despite the current economic situation recruitment of the correct staff to our team is no easier. We do still have vacancies and are always looking for people who offer the correct attributes and skills to join us."
The Scottish Tourism Skills Strategy, published in 2010, identified improving the appeal of the sector and attracting new talent as one of its key tasks.
People 1st, the sector skills council for the industry, is trying to increase participation in modern apprenticeship schemes and offer more flexible online training options.
Trade and industry organisations are aware of the recruitment challenges faced by their members.
Daniel MacIntyre, business development executive for Highlands and Islands at Scotland Food & Drink, said: "In hospitality we are finding there is not a commitment to the service sector as a career even though Scotland has businesses with global reputations.
"Too many younger people view the industry as a temporary or stop-gap measure.
"I am aware of top rural hotels which are reliant on immigrant workers so if that population begins to dip that will be a major challenge."
David Cochrane, chief executive of the Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland, said: "Our industry is very diverse and there are different pressures for rural and city businesses.
"Good service is good service. It doesn't matter who delivers it as long as you get it but there's no doubt that once you have good people you fight hard to retain them.
"Getting school leavers and young people in is vital but we can also attract other groups such as those returning to work or older people looking for new challenges."
Some businesses in the food production sector are also making adjustments.
Bruce Davidson, managing director at Loch Fyne Oysters, said: "Seasonality is the main problem for rural businesses.
"People migrate or emigrate to look for stable full-time employment.
"To counter the seasonality of our business we introduced a system of banking hours where our full-time staff get their monthly pay in full but work hours as necessary between October and March, then in busier times work longer hours for the same pay until the two equalize.
"This enables us to retain experienced staff and reduce reliance on temporary staff throughout the summer."
Lucy Burke, marketing director at Inverawe Smokehouses in Taynuilt, Argyll, admitted migrant worker were crucial for filling temporary and permanent posts.
She said: "We are always keen to hire more local workers but find many of the young people from the area move to the bigger cities for their education and find opportunities there, so this is not always possible."
Research from the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils suggests hospitality, tourism and leisure businesses have a higher proportion of vacancies (3.9%) and a higher proportion of hard to fill positions (1.3%) than the Scottish averages in 2011(1.9% and 0.7% respectively).
The sector supports around 220,000 jobs across Scotland with more than 20,000 of those in the Highlands and Islands.
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