If you鈥檙e hungry for work and live in Southern Ontario, consider applying to the restaurant industry. From fine dining to fast food -- managers are complaining their staff are turning over as fast as their tables.
鈥淚鈥檓 working 14-hour days right now, seven days a week,鈥� Sip and Bite owner Naide Schneider told CTV Kitchener. She鈥檚 looking to hire a full-time wait staff, dish washers, and a cook at her Elmira, Ont., diner.
Restaurant owners say an abundance of new restaurants in the region have put workers in short supply. The back-to-school season means many of the students the industry relies on are casting off their aprons to return to class.
Entry-level restaurant positions typically pay close to minimum wage, so workers tend to job hop until they find the best pay.
鈥淭here is a bit of a challenge with people thinking that it鈥檚 a small town restaurant and they鈥檙e not going to make as much money,鈥� said Schneider. 鈥淥ur girls do very well here.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 a bunch of other restaurants that might have a higher cheque average then we might,鈥� said Waterloo East Side Mario鈥檚 franchise owner Kait Lin. 鈥淭hey can offer to pay people a bit more.鈥�
The new Mother鈥檚 Pizza location opening in Waterloo next month is desperate to fill 40 positions. General Manager Jonathen Kimpton says online job boards and classified ads aren鈥檛 yielding enough response.
鈥淲e actually had to come up with more of a unique strategy (to find workers),鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never done a job fair. We鈥檝e always done traditional outlets like Kijiji and the newspaper.鈥�
CTV Kitchener also spoke with managers at The Charcoal Group, St. Louis Bar and Grill, Tim Horton鈥檚, A&W, KFC, and Taco Bell -- all of them looking to hire.
With files from CTV Kitchener
