Paul Murphy, who chairs the organization’s retail and supply committee, said there were around 125 positions currently advertised for the sector on the gov.je website – and they were seeing rates holiday discounts of up to 10% at select “key food and grocery stores”. the operators’.
Mike Rutter, managing director of retail for SandpiperCI – the island’s largest retailer – recently warned the group could be forced to temporarily close stores unless urgent action is taken to tackle the coronavirus crisis. labor.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham said importing workers and re-skilling the local workforce was ‘essential’ to solving the problem.
Mr Murphy said: “The retail industry is experiencing very real and real vacancy shortages, and this is now becoming a concern for the quality of supply and the ability to exploit current trading hours, service levels and to maintain the strong service offerings that customers have come to expect from retailers in Jersey.’
He echoed Mr. Rutter’s suggestion that if labor could not be obtained locally, it should be “imported”.
Mr Murphy said: “We would support the point raised. [There is an] immediate need for overseas recruitment, and would encourage longer-term combined efforts to develop professional skills and support the formation of knowledge of islanders who wish to explore this path, either as a career change or as a career start.
He added: ‘We would question the incentives available to ensure this is attractive in the short term for people wishing to work in the overseas retail sector.’
‘[There needs to be] the emphasis on the cost of living, the stock and housing prices, which today make the offer less attractive for many”.
Senator Farnham said: “Importing workers is the key part of the solution, but the solution also lies in retraining and equipping our local workforce and providing housing for quality and affordable for workers.
“We are working hard to provide the necessary support mechanisms for the industry, and I am confident we will see improvements as we move forward into 2022.”
When asked if he was worried about the impact on Christmas shopping, Town Center and Events Manager Connor Burgher said: ‘From what I’m hearing some stores are considering changing their hours of operation so hopefully there will be as much choice but perhaps the times when people can access this choice may change.
He added: “I hope the government will work with business owners to determine the needs of each business and support them in any way possible.” Labor shortage is not a problem exclusive to retail, we also see it in hospitality and many other industries. The parish will also do everything in its power to support businesses.
Mr Murphy said: “Resilience and change in retail is a constant strain and this new challenge comes after the challenges and impacts of Covid [of] supply chain issues on planning and resilience. All of this requires the attention of teams to ensure that the consistency and quality of service is what people want to use.
