The Restaurant Association of New Zealand has launched a new worker support service named Tautoko Hāpai Ō.
The new service will ensure hospitality workers are able to access support through the latest resources and employment opportunities, which in turn aims to support employers to manage workplace relations and get access to those looking for employment in the industry.
It also aims to ensure those who are displaced can get sector-specific guidance to help them reconnect to employment within the hospitality industry.
“It’s vitally important that workers within the hospitality sector, including apprentices and casual workers, don’t get left behind during the tail-end impact of COVID-19,” says Marisa Bidois, CEO of the Restaurant Association.
“During COVID-19 lockdown, we received a surge in calls from workers and non-members needing urgent assistance which put a huge strain on our resources.
“Our organisation has been working with business owners for 25 years but we’ve never before been able to offer assistance to those employed within the industry. We see this service as a great way to assist our members through providing support to their teams as well.
“We know how important it is to be able to support all of those working within the industry so we’re really pleased to be able to extend the reach of our services.”
Tautoko Hāpai Ō establishes support for hospitality workers via an online resource portal including region-based job opportunity boards through Facebook along with a displaced apprenticeship redeployment scheme.
Ten job boards have been set up for regions around the country via Facebook connecting business owners with job opportunities with respective recruits.
The online portal will offer resources including how to build a stand out cv along with employment advice.
The new services will all follow the same model of creation that was used by the association to establish the successful employer-facing COVID-19 resources that were rolled out through the pandemic, but this time targeted specifically toward hospitality workers rather than employers.
The new service has been made possible with funding from the COVID-19 Workers and Workplaces Assistance Fund.
Tautoko Hāpai Ō launches this week. For more information go to https://www.restaurantnz.co.nz/tautokohapaio/
