French Hospitality Sector Eyes Moroccan Workers to Fill Staff Shortages

"[...] At the end of the Covid-19 crisis, we had a lot of employee evaporation that we can’t find again. The situation is very complicated for establishments that can’t find employees. The assessment is bitter because it is the economy that will be degraded. Some bosses will have to reduce their activity; the days, opening hours and number of covers," said Hubert Jan, president of the Union of Trades and Industries of Hospitality (UMIH) of Finistère since 2002 in an interview with the newspaper Le Télégramme.

The organization is counting on 360,000 hiring projects to make up for the shortage of professionals in the hotel and restaurant sector. Already, there are Moroccans who are showing interest in the sector. "In Morocco and Tunisia, there are nearly 2,000 professionals ready to come and work in France," said Hubert Jan, who says he is "a militant of chosen immigration for our trades."

UMIH attaches importance to the housing of seasonal workers. "For four years, we had the project of building a house for seasonal workers in Juan-les-Pins (Alpes-Maritimes), for about thirty housing units. It was opened last May. UMIH carried the project with the financing of the 1% housing and the local authorities," he also said. The wish of the organization, Hubert Jan will say, is to develop this type of operation in areas with a high tourist density with massive recruitments where the situation is complicated. "The slightest housing is rented on Airbnb at rates that a company cannot afford for its employees," he said.