Hotel boom creating jobs and qualified labor shortage

(newsroompanama.com) An unprecedented growth in Panama’s hotel sector with the construction of nearly 10,000 rooms in the works and six more projects scheduled to begin, will create some 12,000 jobs. with English speakers at a premium.

The Panama Hotel Association estimates that, in the next three years the number of hotels in the country will reach nearly 30,000.

But the boom is already creating a parallel problem with  a challenge faced by other sectors of the economy... finding qualified workers, especially, in the case of hotels, staff who can speak English to deal with visitors from the U.S. and other English-speaking countries.

Already, hotels are feeling the pinch as workers leave to take jobs with opportunities with newly-opened facilities.

The problem is expected to worsen as. says Sara Pardo, president of the Hotel Association, as turnover in the industry has increased in recent months.

There have been multiple cases of employees with more than 20 years experience at one location leaving suddenly to earn more money at a new hotel.

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Original Source: http://www.newsroompanama.com/tourism/1537-hotel-boom-creating-jobs-and-qualified-labor-shortage.html
Date Retrieved: August 10, 2010