As opinionated as we might be individually, Long & Short coffee as a business entity remains apolitical, but we can’t have failed to be tickled by the audience member on Question Time who mentioned this potential fallout of Brexit: “Who would be serving our coffee in Pret?”
The lady in question may have had a point though since 700,000 workers in the hospitality industry come from the EU, which sounds like Brexit may leave the UK in a rather precarious situation if many are soon asked to leave. Will more Brits be able to fill the gap, or is there another alternative?
Migration Watch UK have proposed a 2-year post-Brexit working visa with the intent of luring EU workers to the UK to carry out ‘unskilled’ work (their word, not ours; try telling a barista that they’re ‘unskilled’ – I dare you!) and toys with them before ultimately sending them back home after the 2 years is up.
Oddly enough, it sounds like Pret have taken the Question Time audience member’s advice and logged on to social media and job centres in search of UK workers to replace the workforce they will inevitably be losing in the not too distant future.
In the meanwhile, the British Hospitality Association as part of a study by KPMG, have stated that the industry is short of workers, even now, whilst the UK still has EU migrants working here, and that the number of unfilled jobs has grown by 79% in the last 5 years.
Clearly, there doesn’t seem to be a logical resolution for the shortfall in jobs as yet, although this could mean a chance for UK youngsters and others who have struck difficulty in finding suitable employment to take the open opportunities. Or not.
What do you think?
