Crisis shortage of chefs leads to calls for ten chef training schools

Hundreds of Irish restaurants may have to shut their doors – because there just aren’t enough chefs to go around.

In fact, the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) claims, there is a crisis afoot.

It wants emergency measures put in place to sort the issue, warning that by next year, 5,000 chefs will be required.

The RAI has issued a call to have CERT, the former state agency for tourism training re-established, and says as a short-term solution, it is currently seeking to partner with chef training colleges worldwide to attract qualified chefs to Ireland.

Chief Executive of the RAI, Adrian Cummins commented, “Some restaurants across the country are facing mid-week closures due to the shortage of chefs. 

“It is interesting to note that the other large industries in Ireland such as agriculture and fishing have dedicated training centres around the country.

“The hospitality and tourism industry is one of our most valuable assets. It is ludicrous that there are no training colleges for our industry.”

Mr. Cummins commented on the new proposals, “The chef shortage in this country is an ongoing problem.  The new apprenticeship proposals are a stepping stone in tackling the crisis but the re-establishment of CERT is the only solution.” 

The RAI state that the main skills shortages are among suitably qualified chefs.  Shortages of commis chefs feed into shortages at higher and specialist levels.  Among the applicants submitted for chef positions, many are deemed not to be appropriately qualified.  This reflects the fact that there is not enough chef training centres.  Currently 1800 chefs qualify each year from certified culinary training programmes.  There is an immediate deficit of 5000 chef trainees annually.

The RAI recommends investment in management and the establishment of 10 new chef training centres nationally. 

CERT, the State Tourism Training Agency, was established in 1963.  CERT was responsible for providing a trained workforce for the hotel, catering and tourism industry. It offered training courses for those wishing to pursue a career in this field and for employees in the industry who wanted to develop new skills.  It was abolished in May 2003.

Irish workers are accounted for 69% of employees in the Hospitality sector.  This highlights the importance of the industry.  Mr. Cummins continued, “We want to be able to market Ireland as a centre of food excellence, a true culinary experience with world-class chefs leading the way. Instead, we are finding ourselves in a position where we have a severe shortage of chefs in Ireland which is now threatening growth and expansion in the restaurant sector.”