COLUMN: OVERSEAS EMPOLYMENT

Global hunt is on

Searching for club staff here or over there is the question on everyone’s lips

WITH A JOBLESS rate around the 4 per cent mark, a lack of trained – or willing – hospitality staff and a limited pool of talent, clubs are increasingly looking overseas for staff.

But it’s a big world out there and something of a lucky dip when you recruit overseas. And how do you improve your chances of finding a recruit who not only can do the job but who fits your culture, has a valid visa, can cope with the transition and will get the support they need to make that big move overseas, often with limited knowledge of the language?

And with the shadow of the pandemic still over our shoulder how, as an employer, do you check their vax status, judge their overseas experience and credentials, and assess a CV? When they do get here, how do you make sure they are happy and not get too homesick and head back, leaving you with another hole to fill. Oh, and how much is all this going to cost?

Rachelle Yilmaz, founder and CEO, Ausphin

For overseas recruitment company Ausphin seeing is believing, so they have developed Visume where employers can easily screen a candidate’s skills through a video resume.

“Our Visume is loved by the industry, especially the hospitality industry,” says Ausphin founder and CEO, Rachelle Yilmaz, who emailed from Fiji.

Ausphin has a pool of more than 5000 skilled chefs and restaurant managers across the globe and while it is now targeting Singapore, Dubai, the Philippines and Maldives, it will be aiming for skilled candidates from Europe in the third quarter. All candidates must be doubledvaxxed and have intermediate English.

We have 99 per cent success rate with our placement.

“Ausphin is unique. We focus on workforce solutions from attracting highly skilled chefs and hospitality professionals to upskilling and retention strategies,” Rachelle says. “We offer an end-to-end service from employment, training, visa sponsorship, relocation, PR application and personalised career plan for each applicant.”

From an employee perspective, the costs are covered if a candidate does succeed in being offered employment, while Ausphin charges a flat fee of $5000 with six months replacement guarantee for an employee.

“We have 99 per cent success rate with our placement,” Rachelle says.

But employers also have their own obligations once a candidate lands.

“They need to provide a safe and supportive environment where candidates are supported to perform at their best and receive the salary and entitlement according to the award,” Rachelle adds.

While many hospitality operators are looking to lure employees from overseas with costly packages including airfares, relocation costs, accommodation, cars, etc, online training organisation Allara Learning founder and CEO Andrew Lewis still believes there is an opportunity to find local talent. But employers must invest in training programs and provide new employees with the skills required to succeed in the hospitality industry.

“Some employees are not returning to the hospitality industry post-lockdown due to lack of support offered to the industry and its employees through Covid,” Andrew says.

Allara Learning has already run several successful JobReady programs for NSW clubs including Wests, Bankstown Sports and Dooleys.

“JobReady programs equip local job seekers with the training and skills required for specific roles within your business,” Andrew says.