Migrants make up over a quarter of hospitality industry employees

Research conducted by People 1st has found that migrants are playing a key role in all levels of hospitality.

In its report, Migrants in the Hospitality Industry, it said that 26% of the industry is made up of migrants, compared with 23% in 2009. Of those, 28% come from Europe.

In London 69% of the workforce are migrants, while a quarter of those working in Greater Manchester and the 28% in the West Midlands are people from abroad.

People 1st found that while many fill entry level roles, a significant number are in management roles and creative careers.

Martin-Christian Kent, executive director at People 1st, said: "It's a simple fact that without migrants working in our industry, we would have far greater skill gaps and skills shortages that we currently do. In fact, our industry is the fourth largest employer of people from abroard, with 6% of all migrants in the UK work in hospitality.

"That counts for a lot of jobs and we're now starting to see just how important they are; 28% of managers are migrants and they fill 37% of skilled roles in the industry.

"Just two examples really show the real impact migrants are having; 44,000 restaurant and catering managers are born outside the UK, and so are 91,000 chefs."