How Rotorua’s new CBD cafe plans to revitalise hospitality staffing ‘crisis’

Rotorua’s newest inner-city cafe hopes to help revitalise a hospitality industry grappling with a nationwide staffing “crisis”.

The Junction on Fenton – located inside Fenton Street’s iSite building – will officially open to the public
on Monday.

The Toi Ohomai and Te Pūkenga-led project, supported by Rotorua Lakes Council, will offer real-life training opportunities for the next generation of hospitality workers.

The project also hopes to help recruit and retain more people into an industry that has struggled with border closures and finding staff to fill roles.

It comes as the number of enrolments in hospitality courses at its Tauranga and Rotorua campuses continues to decline since the 2020 Covid-19 outbreak.

Toi Ohomai business design and service industries faculty dean Bart Vosse said The Junction on Fenton was not a training cafe but a full commercial business with the philosophy of showcasing the industry and supporting its students.

It was hoped that those in the industry would visit the cafe, witness the up-and-coming talent and eventually offer them a job after they graduate, Vosse said.

“We want to be able to be that connection between recruitment and revitalisation of the industry.”

Vosse said the project had been four years in the making and followed discussions with industry leaders who wanted to raise standards across the hospitality industry.

Feedback indicated graduates needed to be more “employment-ready” for the fast-paced world of commercial hospitality, he said.

The new cafe will give students from each of its campuses in Rotorua, Taupō, Tauranga, Tokoroa and Whakatāne a realistic, hands-on learning experience.

Junior staff will be able to complete industry apprenticeships at the cafe, while Toi Ohomai students will gain work experience and training as part of their course. It will be managed and operated by experienced senior staff.

Vosse said there had been a drop in domestic learners over the years and Covid-19 border closures meant there had been a significant reduction in migrants arriving in New Zealand to study hospitality.

The industry needed more hospitality staff than ever, he said.

“There is a crisis in hospitality for staffing…”

The polytechnic was getting between 15 and 20 calls a day from hospitality owners as far as Auckland looking for staff, he said.

“The industry is dire. They have come out of two of their hardest business years.

“The community is feeling like a career in this industry is no longer viable.

“But we need hospitality to flourish.”

The cafe will be able to showcase to hospitality students what the industry offered, how vibrant it was, and the opportunities within it, Vosse said.

“Because when the borders open up again… we need to show a career in hospitality is a good choice.

“This is how we can revitalise the workforce.”

The council owns the iSite building. In March 2021, it agreed to add an outdoor area to the site to ensure the successful establishment of the cafe and the realisation of associated benefits to the district and community.

District development deputy chief executive Jean-Paul Gaston said partnering with Toi Ohomai was a great opportunity to “further embed council’s commitment to a thriving inner city by helping to activate our historic iSite building and Jean Batten Square”.

“This is an exciting venture and I look forward to seeing the cafe used as a training facility to support our local hospitality sector and the retention of local students in the long term.”

Toi Ohomai offers courses including certificates and diplomas in baking, cookery, food and beverage, and the art of coffee and barista services.

There were 19 students enrolled at its Mokoia campus in Rotorua, down from 23 in 2021 and 33 in 2020.

In Tauranga, there were 38 students enrolled at its Windemere campus. There were 36 students in 2021 and 50 in 2020.

Restaurant Association of New Zealand chief executive Marisa Bidois said the cafe was a great initiative and a fantastic opportunity for people in the region looking to enter the industry.

“Our staff shortages are well documented and while we are working hard in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development on training through our HospoStart and Springboard programmes, the reality is that we also need more public-private partnerships like this to train people to be work ready.”

Bidois said to help create long-term changes, it has a road map guiding it towards the industry’s revival and to a stronger more resilient industry.

“We know that no organisation can implement change alone, so we are engaging with key industry stakeholders, including industry operators, business organisations, training providers, unions, regional tourism organisations and more, as well as a wider stakeholder network that includes ministers and government departments.

“We need the support of others if we want to build a hospitality sector that is truly fit for the future.”

Meanwhile, Hospitality New Zealand has announced an “Emerging Leaders Programme”, which aims to engage workers as soon as they enter the industry and give them ready access to skills development, career pathways and progression.

The objective is to provide current and future supervisors and managers with insights, information, and ideas on how to develop their leadership skills. The courses will be delivered online.

Hospitality NZ has partnered with renowned hospitality expert Shane Green to bring the programme to the industry.

Chief executive Julie White said the industry needed people who were prepared for the future, valued for their skills, confident, engaged in their work and invested in remaining in the industry.

“Our industry is renowned for training people on the job, and operators do a great job of that with the support of our online courses, and this takes it a step further.

“With huge skills shortages across the industry, and with limits on skilled immigrants, we need to increase the skills of those who want to make a career in this great industry, and the Emerging Leaders Programme is aimed at doing that.”

White said the programme format allowed teams to upskill together and will embed a culture of development and excellence.

“It is an exciting programme that I believe will go a long way to making our industry more resilient.

“It is an investment in the future of hospitality’s people”

From hospitality students to teachers

Former Toi Ohomai students Alok Sharma and Bipin Scaria are serving up their skills and knowledge for the next generation of hospitality workers.

The 33-year-olds graduated from the Waiariki Institute of Technology, now Toi Ohomai, and had returned to help run the new cafe. Sharma will be the cafe manager and Bipin the head chef.

Sharma said it was a “dream come true” to be working for the industry he was once a student in and helping to train the next generation of hospitality workers.

“It is a trade people should consider.”

He said he hoped to pass on the top customer service skills he had learned to the up-and-coming students.

Bipin said it was a good opportunity for students to learn and train under expert guidance and feel supported in a fast-paced environment.

“I will also be encouraging aspiring chefs to experiment with food and create their own dishes.”

Daeshance Cooke was one of those aspiring chefs.

The culinary student was only months into his training and could not wait to show what he was made of.

“With food, it is about showing a part of yourself, your culture on a plate.”

The 18-year-old said he hoped to one day become a fine dining chef and travel the world with his food and flavours.

Cooke said he liked the adrenaline rush of a busy kitchen and the “passion that is put into food”.

He said he liked the new cafe as it would give students the opportunity to train with the full support of his tutors on site.

“It is a free, real-life experience.”