A restaurant belonging to Celtic Manor Resort will be closing temporarily as the company moves to consolidate its operations. The Newbridge on Usk in Monmouthshire will close from July for an unspecified period which the resort puts down to recruitment issues.
Stories of a huge vacancy gap in the UK’s hospitality industry has been widely reported in recent weeks. There are now more than one million vacancies in the industry within the UK.
Celtic Manor Resort has taken the decision to close Newbridge on Usk to ensure a quality service at its other five eateries this summer. A spokesman for the company called recruitment a “long-term challenge”.
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Earlier this month UKHospitality executive director for Wales David Chapman said recruitment issues were pushing businesses to the brink. UKHospitality estimates that shortages are suppressing economic activity in hospitality alone by £22bn, with the pandemic hangover and Brexit adding to an existing problem of finding staff. This has led to businesses reducing menus as well as service and opening hours, and in some cases closing on certain days.
“Ongoing hospitality recruitment and skills issues in Wales are limiting the visitor experience, damaging business viability and threatening to derail the industry recovery,” Mr Chapman told BusinessLive. “Salaries have risen in upper double digit numbers inside a year but many businesses are still reporting shortages of workers.”
A spokesman for Celtic Manor Resort said: “Recruiting staff is a long-term challenge affecting the entire hospitality industry, as well as many other sectors. The impact of Brexit and the Covid pandemic have both contributed to the long-term recruitment issues within the hospitality industry, but we are proactively looking at new ways to recruit new team members.
“We have opened a new Celtic Collection job shop drop-in facility next to the Careers Wales office in the centre of Newport and we have partnered with the Welsh Government and Working Wales on their Experience Makers campaign to highlight the many rewarding features of working in hospitality. We look forward to reopening the Newbridge on Usk as soon as we are able.”
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