Costa del Sol tourist industry seeking talent to fill hundreds of jobs

From waiters to managers and plenty more besides, hotels and restaurants are hoping to recruit 500 staff during the first recruitment day for the tourism sector which will take place on 29 March at the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos in Malaga. About 1,500 applicants are expected to be interviewed by the 40 businesses which will be taking part.

This information was given at the official presentation of the recruitment day, at which the president of the Aehcos hotelier association, José Luque; the president of the Mahos restaurant association, Javier Frutos; and the president of the Beach Businesses Associaion, Manuel Villafaina, took part. Also attending were the Junta de Andalucía’s Tourism delegate, Nuria Rodríguez; the councillor for Employment and Youth, Luis Verde, and the Malaga provincial council’s Director of Training and Employment, Rocío Ruiz.

Luque explained that the forthcoming tourist season is looking very promising, but because so many establishments had been unable to operate during the pandemic a lot of professionals had moved to jobs in other sectors, which is why there are so many vacancies.

Javier Frutos said he hoped unemployed professionals would attend the recruitment day, as well as those who already have a job but are thinking of a change, and young people who have never worked before. “These are good quality jobs and qualified professionals are always needed, although the companies will provide training as well,” he explained. He pointed out that before the pandemic these three associations had provided work to 100,000 professionals in Malaga, but in 2021 that had dropped to 74,000, a reduction of 14.3 per cent.

Manuel Villafaina said that the beach businesses need people to cook the ‘espetos’ - fish on canes cooked over an open fire – as well as restaurant managers and staff to hire out the sunbeds. “I want to say to anyone who is looking for work that this is a very nice sector to work in, and although things aren’t yet as they used to be you will earn money and have the opportunity to meet new people. We are mainly interested in younger staff,” he said.

They advised applicants to make contact with the companies that interest them when they register online, and send them their CVs directly. They also agree that despite the uncertainty, including the hauliers’ strike and the possibility that some businesses will have to close temporarily if they cannot obtain supplies, there are plenty of bookings for Easter week and the summer is looking very positive.