Irish Barista Academy to tackle skills shortages

Excel Recruitment and sister company Futureproof Training are delighted to add barista training to the menu by establishing ‘The Irish Barista Academy’ to meet skills shortages in the hospitality industry.

The academy’s foundation earlier this month comes in direct response to increasing requests for skilled baristas from a variety of hospitality businesses . Shane Mclave, Director at Excel Recruitment says “It’s clear to see how coffee culture has exploded in Ireland in recent years and with the employment market the way it is, there is a dearth of trained and passionate baristas across the country. The barista school came about because of the sheer number of our clients requesting knowledgeable, fully-trained baristas. We have 100s of fantastic staff that are great at customer service, bar and wait staff duties, they just need the additional knowledge piece.” Shane continues “The school will be mutually beneficial for clients and staff. Staff will be able to add another string to their bow and clients have skilled, accomplished baristas readily available for their businesses’ needs.

The Irish Barista Academy will also partner with Skillnet, Ireland’s national agency responsible for workforce learning. Shane Mclave also explains how important the partnership with Skillnet is. Shane says “We’re incredibly proud to be partnering with Skillnet on this initiative. Skillnet’s ethos is very similar to our own, empowering the workforce by offering valuable learning experiences while ensuring businesses have a highly skilled workforce essential to their competitiveness.”


The new Irish Barista Academy will offer full barista training courses including equipment and maintenance, coffee theory, customer service and more. According to Senior Trainer Eimhear Ó Dálaigh the barista training is designed specifically with Excel’s clients in mind. She says “as soon as the training is completed, each barista is able to immediately and seamlessly work on any of our client’s teams.”


The school will be run in partnership with Futureproof Training which already offers a full range of blended training for hospitality professionals. Futureproof operates at the forefront of training providers with fully accredited trainers and a variety of learning methods, including online, app and classroom based.

For more info on The Irish Barista Academy, visit www.irishbaristaacademy.ie or www.skillnetireland.ie

Book your place today: http://www.irishbaristaacademy.ie/contact-us/

Staffing is biggest concern for 69% of Irish food businesses

 

69% Irish food businesses say the availability of skilled workers is a serious concern, according to new research released by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

Brexit was shown to be the second greatest future worry for food businesses, with over two thirds (67%) identifying its unknown impact as a business concern going forward. The food businesses interviewed cited particular concerns around increases in costs of supplies, tariffs and exchange rates in respect of Brexit on the Irish food industry. Dr Pamela Byrne, CEO, FSAI, said: “Our research shows that difficulties in attracting skilled staff and increased regulations and taxes are among the perceived threats that food businesses are citing. At the same time, the final outcome of Brexit is still not yet known almost three years since the referendum took place, and this is also concerning food businesses here.”

The research was carried out by Amárach and looked at the attitudes and feelings of over 200 national and international food business SMEs, including importers, wholesalers, manufacturers, producers, operators and retailers. The research also showed that food allergens and ingredients labelling is the number one concern for Irish food businesses from a regulatory perspective. A majority (73%) were increasingly confident about food safety regulation, believing that Irish produced food is safer now than it was five years ago. Despite the increased confidence, numerous food safety concerns remain for food businesses. The food industry is apprehensive about allergens and ingredients labelling; food hygiene and handling requirements; and other widely noted food safety concerns including the use of hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and additives.

Around one third (31%) of those surveyed do not feel well enough informed in terms of food safety information, despite a high proportion claiming to cover this in-house or via consultants.

If you are a hospitality, food or FMCG manager looking for assistance with your recruitment, get in touch with any of our expert team at 01-8717676. If you would like to enquire more about Manual Handling or HACCP training for you or your team email info@futureprooftraining.ie

Grocery Retail Market Shares

Dunnes remain top grocery retailer as Lidl and Aldi growth continues

Dunnes Stores retained top spot in the battle of the supermarkets with a 21.8% market share for the 12-week period ending July 14. This marks its 11th straight time on top of the grocery retail market. Douglas Faughnan, consumer insight director at Kantar, said Dunnes had attracted an additional 65,000 shoppers during the 12-week period with shoppers spending an average of €42 per visit, the most of any supermarket. He said Dunnes typically performs strongest in the second half of the year so these figures mean the retailer has “a solid base as we move towards its core trading season.”

In line with the overall market trend for increased spending by consumers, Lidl has seen the greatest increase of as shoppers bought more of its premium products. Douglas Faughnan explains: “While Lidl has witnessed a slight rise in overall shopper numbers, its success encouraging people to trade up to its premium own label and branded lines is a key reason behind its growth. Nearly 100,000 more shoppers bought Lidl’s top tier own label products this period compared to last, with an additional 13, 000 shoppers buying branded goods as well.” Lidl recently opened their 200th store and announced plans for 50 more stores around Ireland in the coming years.

Both Dunnes and Lidl have capitalised on a growing trend among shoppers who prefer to prepare meals from scratch. Inspired by the success of meal kit brands and convenience cookbooks, recent package deals on the constituent ingredients for home-cooked classics like spaghetti carbonara and bolognese have been popular at both retailers.

Aldi has seen the most dramatic growth of all the retailers during this period, with growth hitting double digits. Sales at the discounter were 12.8% higher than a year ago for a 12.5% share – both records for the German retailer. Lidl’s 5.4% year-on-year sales growth leaves it on 12.2%.

Excel Recruitment launch specialist HR recruitment division

Excel Recruitment are delighted to announce the opening of our new specialised HR recruitment division.

With the ‘war for talent’ in full swing in Ireland, our new HR recruitment division has come in direct response to our client’s requirements, as the market sees an increasing focus on building a strong HR function and the positive impact HR has on businesses’ success.

The view of HR has changed drastically in recent years, shifting dramatically from the traditional compliance/ service provider to a much broader responsibility of both company and employee champion; designing, driving and continuously improving the entire employee and candidate experience. More and more, we are seeing companies carve out roles such as “Chief Culture Officer’ or ‘Head of People and Culture’ to reflect HR’s new mandate, of driving quality candidate experience and employee engagement, well-being and retention.

Excel Recruitment has successfully recruited HR roles of all levels for our clients since 2002 and has successfully filled HR roles for some of the biggest retail and hospitality brands in Ireland. CEO Barry Whelan says “The move to a defined specialist division will allow our HR team to concentrate specifically on HR roles across any industry with greater focus and improved search and selection capabilities, recruit permanent roles along with providing contract and even temporary personnel solutions.”

Heading up the division is Sean Thomas, Senior Consultant. Sean began his career with Excel Recruitment first as a candidate before joining our successful retail recruitment team over 5 years ago. In 2018, Sean was promoted to Senior Consultant and wanting to understand more about his client’s needs and explore his passion for HR, completed his CIPD HR qualification.

If you have any HR recruitment requirements or are an HR professional on the lookout for a new move, get in touch with Sean today at sean@excelrecruitment.com or call 01-8148747

Dunnes still in top spot as grocery retail sees record Bank Holiday boost

Irish grocery sales hit record levels during Easter week as shoppers splashed out €208.2 million during Easter week. The overall sector grow by 4.1% in the 12 weeks to 21 April 2019, which saw all the major retailers return to growth, with Dunnes taking the crown of the nation’s largest grocer for the eighth consecutive period.

Douglas Faughnan, Consumer Insight Director at Kantar, comments: “With both the St Patrick’s Day Bank Holiday and the Easter weekend giving shoppers cause for celebration over the past 12 weeks, there have been plenty of excuses for people to get in store and spend. Shopper visits to the major retailers grew by 1.3% on last year, yielding an additional €28.7 million of value. Consumers spent a total of €44 million on Easter eggs leading up to Easter Sunday, while fresh lamb, a traditional favourite, generated €29 million.”

Dunnes posted sales growth of 6.1% as well as retaining its number one position – the highest growth seen by the retailer has seen since November 2016. Douglas Faughnan explains: “Dunnes has continued to push towards premium items through its Simply Better collection and partnerships with specialists like James Whelan Butchers and Sheridan’s Cheesemongers. Encouragingly for Dunnes, shoppers appear to be happy to spend more in-store. The average price paid at the retailer is up 1.9% on last year, generating an extra €10 million in sales.”

Douglas Faughnan continues: “Tesco’s growth of 2.8% is its strongest of the year so far. It’s all the more impressive that the retailer has managed to maintain increasing sales considering at this time last year it was growing at 6.2%. Tesco’s own label offer now accounts for 47% of its sales and is increasing at 4.3%, boosting the retailer’s overall performance.”

SuperValu also experience growth, bolstered by a robust performance in fresh food. Fresh lamb, fish and beef sales were up by 13.2%, 12.8% and 11.0% respectively – underpinning the retailer’s reputation as a traditionally strong performer among Easter dinner staples.

Aldi and Lidl, while continuing to perform strongly in Dublin, are making major gains outside of the capital as well. Douglas Faughnan comments: “Growth of 18% for Aldi in the Connaught and Ulster region was the strongest increase recorded by any retailer in any one region, while Lidl’s 13% growth in Munster makes it the fastest growing grocer in the southern provinces.”

Ireland’s best restaurant for 2019 revealed

Members of Excel Recruitment’s hospitality team were delighted to attend last night’s 2019 Irish Restaurant Awards in Dublin’s Clayton Hotel. The big winners on the night were of an incredibly high calibre and shining examples of the exceptional standards in the Irish food industry.

Loam in Galway city took the crown as Ireland’s restaurant of the year 2019. The Michelin-starred dining room and wine bar opened in 2014 and differentiates itself with its strong sustainability ethos and by only using ingredients from the West of Ireland. It is owned and run by Enda McEvoy, who was voted best chef in Ireland at the awards in 2016. The best chef 2019 is Graham Neville of Dax Restaurant on Pembroke Street Upper, Dublin. Pub of the year is Doheny and Nesbitt, Baggot Street, with The Old Spot, Bath Avenue, Dublin, taking the gastro pub honours. The best newcomer national winner is Everett’s Restaurant in Waterford,

Run by the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the awards are renowned for the high standards of the entrants and thorough selection process with a public vote, regional judging panels, a mystery guest visit, and a final assessment by the event’s National Awards Academy, comprising food writers, bloggers and culinary academics. This year saw more than 90,000 nominations were made by members of the public.

Congratulations from Excel Recruitment to all the very deserving winners, see the full list of winners below.

 

Best Restaurant

Dublin – Dax Restaurant

Connaught – Loam

Leinster – Eastern Seaboard Bar & Grill

Munster – Wild Honey Inn

Ulster – OX

All Ireland – Loam

Best Chef

Dublin – Graham Neville of Dax Restaurant

Connaught – Barry Ralph of House of Plates

Leinster – Deirdre Adamson of The Fatted Calf

Munster – Peter Everett of Everett’s Restaurant

Ulster – Chris McGowan of Wine and Brine

All Ireland – Graham Neville of Dax Restaurant

Best Restaurant Manager

Dublin – Denise McBrien of The Old Spot

Connaught – Eva Ivanova of Sage

Leinster – Edwina Hynes of La Côte Seafood Restaurant

Munster – John Edward Joyce of The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge

Ulster – Saul McConnell of Noble

All Ireland – Eva Ivanova of Sage

Pub of the Year

Dublin – Doheny and Nesbitt

Connaught – V.J Doherty’s

Leinster – Hamilton’s Pub

Munster – Levis Corner House

Ulster – Coach House & Olde Bar

All -Ireland – Doheny and Nesbitt

Best Hotel and Guesthouse Restaurant

Dublin – The Saddle Room at The Shelbourne Hotel

Connaught – West Restaurant at the Twelve Hotel

Leinster – Brabazon Restaurant at Tankardstown House

Munster – Gregans Castle Hotel

Ulster – Newforge House

All Ireland – Gregans Castle Hotel

Best Newcomer

Dublin – Uno Mas

Connaught – Passione by the Slice

Leinster – Lily’s On Church Street

Munster – Everett’s

Ulster – Hara

All Ireland – Everett’s

Best Gastro Pub

Dublin – The Old Spot

Connaught – Bar One

Leinster – The Ballymore Inn

Munster – Mikey Ryan’s Bar and Kitchen

Ulster – Clenaghans

All Ireland – The Old Spot

Best Customer Service

Dublin – Luna

Connaught – Park House Hotel

Leinster – Lennons @ Visual

Munster – Ballyvolane House

Ulster – The Muddlers Club

All Ireland – The Muddlers Club

Best Casual Dining

Dublin – 777

Connaught – Hooked Sligo

Leinster – Truffles Restaurant and Wine Bar

Munster – Bodega

Ulster – The Olde Glen Bar, Restaurant and Tea Room

All -Ireland – 777

Best Wine Experience

Dublin – Green Man Wines

Connaught – Le Petit Pois

Leinster – Barrows Keep

Munster – The Black Pig

Ulster – OX

All Ireland – Green Man Wines

Best Kids Size Me

Dublin – Old Street Restaurant

Connaught – Shells Seaside Bakery and Café

Leinster – Tiffin by Sunil

Munster – No. 9 Café

Ulster – Oak Room Restaurant

All Ireland – Old Street Restaurant

Best World Cuisine

Dublin – 3 Leaves

Connaught – Spice India

Leinster – Pink Salt Indian Restaurant

Munster – Iyer’s

Ulster – Tuk Tuk Asian Bistro

All Ireland – 3 Leaves

Best Café

Dublin – Two Pups

Connaught – Connemara Greenway Café & Restaurant

Leinster – Knockdrinna Farm Shop & Artisan Café

Munster – Good Day Deli

Ulster – Dinkin’s Home Bakery & Café

All Ireland – Connemara Greenway Café & Restaurant

Best Free From

Dublin – Urbanity

Connaught – Drumanilra Farm Kitchen

Leinster – Zucchini’s Restaurant

Munster – Grow HQ

Ulster – The Olde Post Inn

All Ireland – Grow HQ

Local Food Hero

All -Ireland – Seán Hussey of Hussey & Sons Fruit & Veg

Dublin – Seán Hussey of Hussey & Sons Fruit & Veg

Best Emerging Irish Cuisine

Dublin – Forest & Marcy

Connaught – An Port Mór Restaurant

Leinster – Thyme Restaurant

Munster – No. 35 Restaurant

Ulster – Wine and Brine

All Ireland – No. 35 Restaurant

Best Digital Marketing

All -Ireland – Michael’s Mount Merrion

Best Cookery School

All -Ireland – The Neven Maguire Cookery School

Best Private Dining and Club Restaurant

All -Ireland – Stephens Green Hibernian Club

Best Seafood Experience

All-Ireland – Fish Shop, Benburb Street

Best Cocktail Experience

All -Ireland – The Tack Room at Adare Manor

€1.2bn in funding needed for nursing homes

A surge in the cost of construction means an estimated minimum of €1.2bn in new investment is needed to avoid a major nursing home bed shortage.

According to experts, the ‘cost per bed’ of building nursing homes has risen 20%. The price has now risen to more than €160,000, a rise that is said to be discouraging the development of long-term residential care homes. Increased competition for suitable sites from the residential housing sector is also pushing up costs according to Independent.ie while the amount paid by the Government’s Fair Deal scheme for nursing home fees has not kept pace with the rapidly rising cost of building meaning the problem has become particularly severe in rural areas.

“With Dublin benefiting from more attractive Fair Deal rates and better access to staffing, the expected level of nursing homes built in counties with lower Fair Deal rates may not materialise,” said Hilary Coates, head of Healthcare at Bank of Ireland.

Research by the bank has found that Ireland’s ageing population means that the country faces a nursing shortfall of 7,500 beds by 2026. CBRE Healthcare director Cormac Megannety said that he is also seeing the same trends in the nursing home market.

“We have seen a lot of interest from big European funds in this sector, some of which has translated into deals,” said Megannety.

“But no one is looking at building nursing homes in the countryside. The economics don’t work in rural Ireland,” he added.

In recent weeks there has been an uptick in activity with the biggest players in the market benefiting from investment by major UK and European investors.

Last week AXA Investment Managers announced that it had bought a portfolio of 10 Irish nursing homes, which will be operated by Mowlam Healthcare – the biggest Irish operator.

Andrew Ovey, who led the investment for AXA IM, declined to say whether the fund would invest further in the Irish nursing home sector.

“I think the market has expansion potential,” Ovey said. “But the level of fragmentation is phenomenal.”

 

JYSK opening in Ireland

Danish retailer JYSK planning to open up to 15 Irish stores

Danish homeware retailer and Ikea rival JYSK is set to make its Irish debut soon and has scouted 20 locations across the Republic as potential future locations for its planned Irish rollout.

The Nordic retailer announced today it will set up a head office in Dublin followed by the first official Irish store opening in April. The retailer’s first store Irish store will be located in Naas, Co. Kildare and the brand will start selling online and offer home delivery to Irish customers from 15 April. The retail brand, which sells homewares products like mattresses and living room furniture, will open two further locations in Drogheda and Navan during the month of May. A fourth branch in Portlaoise is scheduled to open by the end of summer. In total, JYSK – which is pronounced “yusk” – aims to open 15 stores across the Republic.

The new branches are set to feature a refreshed store concept launched by the brand last year, which includes a newly designed storefront and refreshed interiors. While there are no details currently on further planned locations. Ireland country manager Roni Tuominen told Fora the retailer is looking at locations that can deliver the highest footfall: “We are aiming to be close to the customer. Our target is to be where the customers are.”

JYSK will be joining Scandinavian rivals already well-established in the Irish market, Ikea and Søstrene Grene, which also sell affordable homewares products. Tuominen said “We’re working in 51 countries, so of course these companies are well-known for us. I think for the customers, competition is good and actually creates value,” he said. Jennifer Johnston, who is sales and marketing manager of JYSK Ireland, told Fora the retailer differentiates itself by rolling out new products on a more regular basis to cater for changing design trends. “One thing that we are very strong on is Scandinavian designed products. We are very good at launching new products regularly,” she said.

The 40-year-old brand, which is pronounced “yusk”, operates some 2,700 stores across 51 countries. It employs over 23,000 people around the world and reported sales of €3.5 billion last year.

Irish shoppers are set to spend over €1 billion on their Christmas groceries

Irish shoppers are set to spend over €1 billion on groceries throughout December for the first time as competition gets even fiercer between grocery retailers over the Christmas period.
According to research from Kantar World Panel, Irish households spent €968.2 million last December in supermarkets, and “all the signs so far indicate that this year Irish households will break the €1 billion threshold for the first time”

Overall the grocery market grew by 2.9% in the 12 weeks to 2 December according to Kantar’s latest figures. Dunnes Stores remains the largest grocery retailer, with a market share of 22.4% after seeing sales growth of 3.4% for the period. SuperValu’s sales rose by 1.3% over the same 12 weeks, cementing it in second place with 21.7% share of the market. Tesco is in third place with a 21.6% market share and growth of 0.3%, However, discount retailers Aldi and Lidl saw the strongest growth of all for the second consecutive period, with sales up 7% and 4.1% respectfully. Aldi now has 11.6% of the market, with Lidl on 11.3%. Aldi UK & Ireland Chief Executive Giles Hurley said the retailer is “delighted to be the fastest growing retailer in Ireland for the third month in a row,” adding Aldi has “opened new stores in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Graiguenamanagh, Youghal, and Killaloe over the last month.”

Consumer Insight Director at Kantar Worldpanel Douglas Faughnan said of the figures: “Promotions continue to play an important role among the traditional retailers as they try to attract new shoppers and encourage customers to spend more in store. “SuperValu has performed strongest here, with the average value of a trip to the retailer increasing by €1.56 to €24.20 this period. As preparations for Christmas accelerate during December that figure is only likely to rise. “However, Dunnes’ long-running voucher programme means shoppers spend significantly more on each trip there than at any other retailer. Dunnes’ average spend per trip of €42.60 is one of the main reasons the retailer has retained the number one spot this period.”

Grocery Retail

Shoppers spend €65m across the border as Christmas spending begins

With Brexit continuing to dominate the news and the impact of a hard border still unclear, the latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel show the value of cross-border shopping is at its highest level for five years. €64.5 million was spent shoppers from the Republic of Ireland in the 12 months ending in November 2018.

Over the past year just over one in eight households from the Republic of Ireland made at least one trip north of the border to do a grocery shop. That equates to more than 207,000 shoppers” says Douglas Faughnan, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel.

“While these excursions account for a relatively small percentage of each family’s supermarket visits – on average, eight out of 270 annual trips – they spend substantially more shopping when they cross the border. Shoppers from the Republic spent €38.50 on an average shop in Northern Ireland while the average spend back home is €23.70. This is likely to be because they want to make the extra effort worthwhile.”

One of the biggest attractions for shoppers looking for a cross-border bargain is alcohol. Douglas Faughnan explains: “Of the €65 million spent by Republic of Ireland shoppers in Northern Ireland over the past year, a quarter went on alcohol, adding up to just over €16 million. No other food or drink category comes close, with dairy products accounting for the next largest share of cross-border spend, at 5.9%.”

The strength of the euro against sterling over the past two years has made cross-border shopping even more appealing, but there have been benefits for those spending in the Republic as well. Douglas Faughnan explains: “The cost of importing products to Ireland from Britain has fallen while goods made in Ireland with British ingredients have typically been cheaper to produce. This has allowed retailers to pass savings on to their customers – vital in such a competitive market – and as a result, grocery prices in Ireland have for the most part been falling since March 2017.”

“However, for only the second time in 21 months, grocery prices have increased, suggesting the prolonged period of grocery price deflation may be coming to an end.”

Halloween provided €30m boo-st

The four week run up to Halloween generated an uplift of almost €30 million for supermarkets. Supplies for parties and trick or treating were in high demand with confectionery sales up 4% compared with the same period last year. 17% of Irish households bought a pumpkin this Halloween, spending a collective €1.5 million on the seasonal vegetable.

Faughnan says: “With Halloween wrapped up and the arrival of the much-anticipated Christmas TV adverts this week, Irish shoppers are already getting excited for the festive season. In fact, more than 50,000 people had already bought a Christmas pudding by the 4th November.