Support structures for vulnerable youth in hotel employment: Current practices and future potential

Dr. Axe used an Internal Grant for Research to explore how hospitality employers must consider a range of recruitment approaches to meet increasing labour demand by making offers to vulnerable youth.

According to Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (2012), labour demand in the hospitality sector is expected to climb by 33% by 2030 and will grow faster than the projected supply of labour. To meet this demand, hospitality employers must consider a range of recruitment approaches. For hotels that provide housing there is the potential to combine work, housing, employment and training to offer vulnerable youth a pathway to a more secure future. Building on an earlier project in partnership with Zero Ceiling (Axe, Childs & Manion, 2019), this study will explore employer perspectives on vulnerable youth in hospitality employment.