Australian restaurant industry 'at risk' after Peter Dutton's 457 visa crackdown

• Latika Bourke

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London: Peter Dutton's crackdown on temporary workers from overseas could prevent the "next Jamie Oliver or Heston Blumenthal" showcasing their talents from Australia, the world's largest job search company Indeed has warned.


The company says it recorded a 10 per cent drop on searches almost instantaneously after the government announced its crackdown on foreign workers. Indeed said of the 4 million job searches during 2017 the greatest interest in jobs in the Australian hospitality industry came from Britain, not from non-English speaking countries. Indeed said it detected a 78 per cent increase in searches for Australian hospitality roles but that was now being undermined by the abolition of the 457 scheme.


Indeed warned that the tough changes risked Australia's hospitality industry with local employers set to suffer shortages of up to 120,000 by the end of the decade, with a shortfall of experienced restaurant and cafe managers, licensed club managers, cooks, bakers and pastry cooks to hire. 
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Indeed Australia-New Zealand managing director Chris McDonald said the government's abolition of the 457 scheme would make it harder for the hospitality industry to deliver high-quality services and grow Australia's reputation as a foodie destination.

"In some cases there were restrictions on chefs, cooks, bakers and managers and leading industry figures such as Neil Perry have raised concerns about barriers to hiring quality front-of-house staff that are critical to the success of quality restaurants," he said.


And he stressed that the greatest level of interest for hospitality jobs, comes from Britain. Indeed said interest from the UK had increased 45.65 per cent in the 6 months to May 2017 compared to the same time period the year before. Interest from India was up 87.8 per cent and the US was up 15.4 per cent.

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