With so many candidates entering the hospitality sector from other disciplines, training has never been so important, according to hospitality recruiters.

Emma Lumsden, director at the Espirit Group, told Recruiter that she has witnessed a broad spectrum of professionals that have been made redundant from the City and other sectors coming to her firm for work but these candidates need to be trained and pick up the necessary skills for the sector.

“If you have sent someone out to be an event manager and they can’t even to do a silver service plate lay out, you are not sending the right message to your troops and people would not know where they stand.”

Christain Worsley, senior consultant at Mint, adds: “A lot of companies send a big volume of staff but they are not always well trained. We get everyone in for registration and give them a bar skills test, food service test and food assistance tests. We chat to them and use the best people that would exemplify our image and uphold our name.”