Dwayne Brown, 45. Photo / Zoe Hunter
Dwayne Brown is changing careers at age 45.
After more than two decades of working with computers and information technology, the Tauranga man now wants to become a chef.
He is sharing his story as the latest Restaurant Association of New Zealand survey revealed 80 per cent of its members were not fully staffed, with 92 per cent finding it difficult to fill mid-to-senior roles, and 65 per cent finding it hard to fill junior-level positions.
Brown is one of 11 new students who are part of HospoStart’s class of 2023 - a programme that prepares jobseekers for a career in hospitality and is run in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development.
The HospoStart programme has run in areas such as the Waikato, Canterbury, Hawke’s Bay and Wellington so far, but expanded into Tauranga this year due to the demand in the Bay of Plenty for entry-level staff.
Brown said he had been working in the IT sector for the last 25 years and decided about four years ago he wanted to become a chef.
After deciding to change career paths, he signed up to do a barista course with Toi Ohomai.
“I had been humming and ha-ing about changing, and time drifted on, and then Covid hit.”
After some more thought, he decided to take the plunge and signed up for HospoStart, which has since inspired him to want to become a chef.
“I thought being a chef, you had to be quite creative. But this course has shown me there is a lot more of a logistical and methodical process.”
Brown said it was “scary” changing careers in his 40s.
“For me, giving up 25 years in IT was a big thing.”
But he said it was about finding enjoyment in his job, and said hospitality will be more “social and rewarding”.
In five years, he wanted to be a fully trained chef.
Forty-three-year-old Karlene Pouwhare graduated from a business course at Toi Ohomai - and even started her own business making wirewrap jewellery - before deciding to change careers into hospitality.
Pouwhare now has aspirations to become a bar manager, or one day open her own restaurant.
She said she started the HospoStart programme “out of the blue”.
Her previous job in hospitality ended after the business closed down post-Covid-19, so she studied business. She even started a business making wirewrap jewellery.
But after realising her love of cooking and a desire to brush up on her “people skills”, Pouwhare said she wanted to pursue her career in hospitality again.
“I could do the business side with no sweat, but I needed to brush up on my people skills. Plus, I love cooking.”
Simone Dobbie, 25, said they had moved from Wellington back to their hometown Tauranga to gain more skills in hospitality.
They said they wanted to gain some front-of-house experience in hospitality, as their previous jobs had been more in housekeeping and cleaning roles.
“I wanted something more front-facing.”
Now, after falling in love with the art of making coffee, Dobbie had aspirations to become a barista.
“I want to serve coffee to people. I like coffee, and I like meeting new people and hanging out at cafés.”
Dobbie said the HospoStart programme was a great way for people who had been out of work and did not know what their skillset was yet to learn in a supportive environment and gain new qualifications.
Restaurant Association of New Zealand chief executive Marisa Bidois said a recent survey of its members indicated 80 per cent of respondents were not fully staffed.
The survey showed 92 per cent of its members had found it difficult to recruit for a mid-to-senior-level position, and 65 per cent had found it difficult to recruit for junior-level positions.
“While 2022 employee numbers reversed the decline seen in 2021 to reach 135,000 employees, at 0.37 per cent, this is the lowest growth level in more than 10 years.”
Bidois said employee numbers in the Bay of Plenty remained static from 2021 to 2022, despite the number of outlets growing by 5.4 per cent.
“The Restaurant Association estimates that a further 30,000 workers are still needed to join the nation’s restaurants, cafés and bars.”
Bidois said skills shortages typically result in owners working long hours, the reduction of opening times and stretched service.
“The BoP is a key tourist area and businesses in this region want to be able to offer visitors a great dining experience, but this is challenging when you are not fully staffed.”
The HospoStart programme was founded in 2015 under the name ProStart. Since then, the programme has evolved and was renamed HospoStart in 2018.
The programme has run in the Waikato, Canterbury, Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, Wellington and Nelson/Tasman so far, and expanded into Tauranga this year based on demand in the Bay of Plenty for entry-level staff, she said.
“We currently have 11 trainees participating in the programme, but the regional programme has seen 135 trainees complete the training since July 2021.”
The programme was co-funded by The Hospitality Training Trust and the Ministry of Social Development and covers placement into employment and three months of mentoring, as well as the two-week training programme.
Bidois said the programme made it easier for trainees to enter the industry.
“Knowing they have mentoring support from a team through their first few months of jobseeking is a vital component to their success.”
It was working with several establishments that have employed young HospoStart candidates with great outcomes.
“Not only is it important to find new recruits for the industry and ensure they are work-ready, but we also know it’s important to give people the opportunity to have a meaningful career in our industry.”
Justin Bruning said he studied for a diploma in professional cooking at Toi Ohomai in 2000.
Now, as the owner of Marigold Café in Te Puke, he is helping to inspire the next generation of hospitality students by taking on a student for 20 hours a week.
Bruning said he enjoyed helping to show aspiring students what the industry was like outside of the polytechnic and giving them a “trial run” of a real-life café experience.
At high school, Bruning said he had other plans to go to the army, but he just “never got around to it” and decided to dive head-first into hospitality.
About seven years ago, he said he thought he’d had enough and changed tack for a bit.
“I worked in a timber yard for a year, but I couldn’t handle it.”
So, he went back to hospitality.
“I just really love it.”
Bruning said finding staff was “incredibly hard”.
He said he had owned the café for more than four years, and had never been able to open seven days a week instead of six due to staff shortages.
“I have always been one member short of being able to do it.”
Nick Potts, co-owner of Solera Wine Bar and Saltwater Restaurant in Mount Maunganui and Deckchair Café in Tauranga, was also helping to celebrate and encourage students into hospitality.
Solera was partnering with Toi Ohomai | Te Pūkenga to provide a real-life training experience for the region’s culinary arts students. On March 28, Solera’s chefs will mentor the students as they prepare 10 creative dishes across three different courses, utilising a range of locally produced ingredients.
Students will prepare the dishes and Solera chefs will help “take it to the next level”.
The Our Future Creative Gifts event will be part of the Flavours of Plenty Festival - an initiative by not-for-profit collective Flavours of Plenty and Tourism Bay of Plenty.
Potts said they wanted to be part of the festival to expose students to different styles of cooking and, hopefully, inspire something in them.
“It is about celebrating the young upcoming chefs [and allowing them] to see what the industry can do.”
Meanwhile, a Rotorua commercial café offering real-life training opportunities for the next generation of hospitality workers had seen a rise in employees and staff moving on to senior roles in the industry since opening in August 2022.
The Junction on Fenton - located inside Fenton Street’s iSite building - was a Toi Ohomai and Te Pūkenga-led project, supported by Rotorua Lakes Council, which aimed to help recruit and retain more people in the hospitality industry.
Toi Ohomai | Te Pūkenga business, design and service industries faculty dean, Bart Vosse, said the café had received “overwhelming support” from the Rotorua community and visitors returning to the city since it opened.
The cafe currently had seven permanent staff and two casual employees, which Vosse said was a 20 per cent increase from when it opened.
“This is a direct result of the support we have received from members of the public.
“We are proud that two of our original staff members have moved on to more senior positions within the hospitality industry in Rotorua.”
Vosse said the 15 students who had completed their work experience and/or work placement modules at Junction on Fenton were currently employed in Rotorua, which was “fantastic” for the industry.
“We’ve had great feedback and support from our hospitality colleagues. We have collaborated together and have co-hosted events, and also used the venue to showcase student pop-up events.”
The success of the Junction had cemented Toi Ohomai’s commitment to hospitality training.
“The venue has proven to be a great meeting place to discuss industry opportunities, as well as expose learners to the excitement of a commercial environment.
“Having an educational philosophy behind this initiative ensures care and time is given to students completing their work experience, and this includes additional pastoral care from the tutors and support staff back on campus.”
However, Vosse said the journey had not been plain sailing, experiencing the challenges facing the industry, including recruitment, increased cost of goods and minimum wage increases.
“However, this is why we are here, to stand alongside our industry partners and explore how we can make this an exciting and long-term career choice for our local talent.”
The jury's marathon deliberations ran for two weeks.