Establishments in Ibiza have been looking for workers for weeks now in preparation for the start of the 2022 tourist season, which is expected to start at the beginning of April. Among the job advertisements on the internet, different worker profiles are being sought and almost all the job offers are temporary in nature, with a duration of about six months.
According to Alfonso Rojo, president of the Petita i Mitjana Empresa de Ibiza y Formentera (Pimeef), the difficulty in hiring qualified personnel has been dragging on for several seasons, although he recognizes that this year there are more employers looking to fill the workforce.
In fact, and despite it still being February, the shortage of skilled labor is already being noticed. “My colleagues in the industrial sector, who are putting establishments in order, do not have enough painters and carpenters. And what is happening in this sector, is going to be seen in the rest as they open,” he warns.
Rojo believes that many people who usually worked seasonally, mostly in nightlife, “have reinvented themselves” to find another professional outlet, which has meant that now “they are not available or are not interested in coming for a few months”.
For this reason, he insists on the need to have “homogeneous workforces” with job contracts lasting as long as possible, from April to the end of October “if leisure works as well as expected”, as well as trying to ensure that the rental of housing is not an obstacle to attract workers. “We must avoid the underground economy and re-renting. We are working with social agents on this issue to prevent it from being a problem for someone to come to work and, among other things, we are considering that it should be the employers themselves who rent the housing and the worker pays the rent. Perhaps it would be easier for the owner if we can prove our solvency”, says Rojo.
If this does not come to fruition, they will have to increase payrolls because, if the workforce is not covered, “we will have to adapt the companies to the situation and, if a restaurant instead of serving four meals has to serve two, it will have to do so, with all that this entails”. However, the president of the Pimeef is confident that, in the coming weeks, recruitment will be completed for a season that aims to be “similar to that of 2019”.
Job offers
In a quick search through different online employment portals, there are job offers such as the one published by the integrated health services management company, Emergency Staff, which seeks to “immediately” incorporate 40 professionals with a degree or diploma in Nursing to work in leisure environments on the island. The main requirements are for assistance to patients suffering from drug intoxication, cuts, wounds, heat stroke, injuries, etc. Conducting covid tests is also included. In this case they are offered an 8 month contract and a salary ranging from 2,100 to 2,400 euros per month.
The hospitality sector has the highest number of job offers. For example, Nando Jubany S.L. has launched 50 vacancies to cover the positions of cooks and waiters in its restaurants in Ibiza and Formentera from May to October or for the busy summer months, July and August. In exchange, as explained in the offer, they offer accommodation and meals. The salary ranges between 18,000 and 30,000 euros gross per year.
The hotel Safragell Suites & Spa, in Sant Joan, is looking to fill four vacancies to complete the kitchen, restaurant and reception team. Petunia Ibiza is also looking to hire four service professionals. In this case, a temporary contract is offered, with incorporation in April, extendable to permanent.
Eurostars Hotel Company is looking for a waiter for a four star hotel. The new five-star TRS Ibiza is looking for a bar manager and luxury hotels in Ibiza need to incorporate floor wait staff, such as Palladium Hotel Group, Grupo Pacha or Insotel Hotel Group.
The Shamarkanda restaurant is looking for staff, to work from March to November, who are “used to dealing with customers from different cultures and who know how to cope well with high workloads”. The Standard Ibiza opens this spring on the island and is looking for waiters for the hotel.
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