Staff shortages bite

Hospitality businesses are continuing to be hit by staffing shortages with the Invercargill Licensing Trust reporting its vacancies sit at more than 10% of its required workforce. ILT chief executive Chris Ramsay again highlighted the problem in his report ahead of the ILT’s monthly board meeting. ‘‘Staffing/ Recruitment remains the biggest issue for our organisation at present.’’ Ramsay said the issue was widespread and Ramsay saw that first hand when he and ILT president Paddy O’Brien visited Auckland recently. ‘‘We attempted three ‘site visits’ on a Monday evening, and were turned away from all three as they were closing early due to lack of staff. Immigration remains our biggest hurdle to resolve kitchen staffing issues,’’ his report says.