Press release, May 31 2018
Today’s Special: Copenhagen and the restaurant industry work together to get unemployed into jobs
The restaurant industry is booming, but there are still bigger fish to fry – jobseekers are now set to benefit from the major staff shortages the industry is facing.
This is the goal of the new partnership agreement between the Employment and Integration Administration in Copenhagen and the restaurant industry’s new initiative, Restaurateurs’ Guarantee Arrangement, REGA.
The agreement has a special focus on helping unemployed citizens in Denmark with a non-Western background into jobs in the restaurant industry.
“We need to help more people get a foothold in the labour market. It is going to be good for the unemployed, good for the city, and good for society, but it is not an easy task. This is why we need some good partners to work closely together with, and I am happy the restaurant industry is pulling out all the stops and getting more people into work,” states Employment and Integration Mayor, Cecilia Lonning-Skovgaard.
The new partnership agreement is a part of the new initiative REGA – a collaboration between the trade association, Denmark’s Restaurants and Cafés, and 14 restaurants, all of whom are putting economic, social and environmental responsibility high on their agenda.
“The restaurant industry is capacious and has the ability to bring people with different cultures and nationalities together. We have members who employ more than 20 different nationalities and it works. At the same time there are staff shortages, so this new cooperation with Copenhagen Municipality makes good sense. We have high expectations of getting some talented people into work, and we are looking forward to getting started,” says Torben E. Hoffmann Rosenstock, Director of Denmark’s Restaurants and Cafés.
Restaurants need kitchen staff
In Copenhagen, approximately 80 percent of the citizens with Danish background are in work. But for Copenhageners with non-Danish backgrounds the number is only 56 percent.
This is why the partnership agreement is focusing first and foremost on getting Copenhageners with non-Western backgrounds into the workforce.
Concretely, after close dialogue with REGA, Copenhagen Municipality will find the candidates that the companies need. In the first instance they will focus on kitchen staff.
When the right candidate starts their journey with a REGA company, Copenhagen Municipality will contribute to the process by, among other things, providing a mentor and giving basic hygiene courses. This will help equip the individual with the tools they need to have a future in the restaurant industry.
“I have absolutely no doubt that if we really want to make a difference and get more Copenhageners with non-Danish ethnic backgrounds into work, we need to be ambitious, tenacious and goal-oriented. And in my view, this is central to the new initiative, which I am looking forward to seeing the results of,” says Cecilia Lonning-Skovgaard.
The new collaboration between the Copenhagen Municipality and REGA was agreed on 30 May in connection with the official launch of REGA at UN City.
For further information please contact:
Cecilia Lonning-Skovgaard via Press Manager Claus Bøggild on 22828437 / jw9k@bif.kk.dk
For press inquiries regarding REGA, contact Press Officer Siri Johanne Hagen on 71 92 77 93 / sh@thehost.dk
