Hospitality needs to do more to develop the skills of lower level workers, according to recruiters.

Professor David Foskett of the Institute of Hospitality told The Mirrorrecently that jobseekers should seek a career in the sector as it offer opportunities for rapid progression and life-long employment.

But Gary King, director at Collins King & Associates, told Recruiter: “The industry offers a whole range of career paths. It is a big industry.

“There is a lack of training, poor hours and poor working conditions. For chefs, the issues are  poorly run kitchens and air conditioning. These are among the key concerns that come up when we are interviewing people.

“Hospitality is very reactionary and a lot of times training and development is not there. Salaries also need to be addressed. We still lag behind other industries in pay.”

Mark Darby, managing director at Berkeley Scott, adds: “Bar staff tend to be a transient workforce. By the nature of the pay and conditions, this lends itself to students and part-time workers.

“In the hotel and leisure side of things, employers have tried to do more with the work-life balance so a hotel manager will always have to work weekends and evenings and work with benefits. Where things can be different is at the managerial level.”