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From Chefs to Waiters - Hunt for Croatian Seasonal Employees Begins

By 27 February 2023

February the 27th, 2023 - As is the case every year with this country's seasonal employment curse, the hunt for Croatian seasonal employees is now on as we approach Easter. Here are the professions would-be employers are seeking staff for.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, snow might have fallen (at least here in Zagreb), Easter is gradually approaching and there are more and more ads appearing as potential employers seek out Croatian seasonal employees for summer 2023. The Employment Office in Rijeka is looking for 670 cooks, but only 123 have applied, 1,000 waiters are needed, and 223 have applied, more than 600 maids are wanted, and there are only 50 of them registered as unemployed and seeking work. HRT has also investigated what the situation is like at this moment in time for Opatija's ever-popular hotels.

As a favourite year-round tourist destination for all sorts of guests, but particularly for the Germans and Austrians, Opatija has more and more hotels that are remaining open all year round. This alone increases the chance that quality Croatian seasonal employees will be accepted into permanent employment positions. Until they are employed, the students of the Opatija Hospitality School regularly compete, practice and study.

"As part of the Regional Centre of Competence, we have the opportunity to send children to competitions, so they like it even more, and hotels and restaurateurs can't wait to hire them," says Sibila Roth, director of the Opatija Hospitality School, for HRT.

After two pandemic-dominated years, students are increasingly interested in becoming employed as cooks, waiters, pastry chefs and receptionists. While Croatian seasonal employees are preferred, there remains a serious lack of qualified labour on the domestic labour market, and it is increasingly certain that Croatian restaurateurs and hoteliers will continue to look for workers from outside of Croatian borders for this season as well.

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