Gabriel Odell is looking for a job in the restaurant industry. Despite his lack of experience, the Santa Barbara County man is drawing a lot of interest at a job fair.
It’s a problem you've heard about during the pandemic, and is still an issue today. The food service and hospitality industries are having a hard time finding, and keeping employees. It’s a huge concern on the Central and South Coasts, where those kinds of jobs are key to the region’s tourism industry.
Kathy Janega-Dykes is President, and CEO of Visit Santa Barbara. It’s the tourism trade group for Southern Santa Barbara County.
"Labor shortages are really the number one crisis that our hospitality industry is facing right now, " said Janega-Dykes. "Not all of the businesses can operate at full capacity because of the shortages"
So, Visit Santa Barbara organized its first ever job fair. The event at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort featured recruiters from more than three dozen restaurants, hotels, tourism, and transportation companies. Even the Santa Barbara Zoo, and Westmont College were represented.
Prospective employers say it’s really hard to find employees. Drew Wakefield is the Director of Sales, and Marketing at the Ramada By Windham in Santa Barbara.
"100% it is absolutely difficult to find people," said Wakefield.
Businesses which provide activities for tourists are also scrambling to find employees, with the peak season around the corner. Will Adams is with the Santa Barbara Adventure Company.
"It certainly has been a challenge," said Adams. "We're always looking for guides, and people in our office."
The biggest problem at the job fair isn’t the lack of jobs. It’s the lack of job seekers. Prospective employers outnumbered the people seeking jobs at times during the four hour event. Many of those who did come found lots of interest in them.
Luis Marquez says he lost his job as a cook during the pandemic, and is looking to get back to work.
"It's (the job fair is) full of jobs," said Marquez. "It's time to get back to work."
Betty Nandar just moved to the South Coast from San Diego, and is hoping to start a new career as a bartender. She took a bartending course during the pandemic.
"It's just something I want to do in this point...working around people...having a conversation...and having fun," said Nandar.
She says she got a couple of bites from prospective employers.
Tim Thomas is hunting hard for employees. He’s with the Kimpton Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara, which is relaunching its Finch and Fork restaurant after a major renovation project.
"It really is tough to find experienced people," said Thomas. "We're in a situation where we sort of need to hit the ground running."
But, he says they are also looking for people with raw talent, who are friendly with good personalities who can be trained.
Employers admit it’s a challenging situation, especially with the peak tourism season for the region just around the corner.
