Many people will not have missed it: the celebration of Ajax on the Museumplein after winning the national championship could not take place. Femke Halsema, mayor of Amsterdam, decided to move the ceremony to the Johan Cruijff Arena. The reason? Not enough security personnel were available to deal with the dangers associated with such a massive event. This shortage of security personnel occurs throughout the Netherlands. How did this serious shortage of security personnel come about and what does it mean for catering, festivals and events?
All sectors are experiencing shortages
In 2022, many sectors will suffer staff shortages. Shops, catering, the event industry, childcare, public transport and airports: they are all looking hard for new staff. There are a number of reasons for this, our society is aging, we have experienced a period of strong economic growth, many new ways of earning money have been added (think of influencers, online coaches and cryptocurrency trading) and more people are working part-time. go to work.
“Dramatic” shortage of security personnel
However, there are some sectors that are experiencing greater shortages than others. These are often sectors in which there was already a shortage of personnel before the corona crisis and/or which were closed during the lockdowns.
Similarly the security industry, which was already dealing with insufficient staff before the corona crisis. During the lockdowns, many sectors in which security guards were active were closed. In particular catering and event security guards As a result, they were temporarily out of work and moved to other sectors. And they did not all return when the measures were lifted. As a result, the tightness that already existed has only increased. Director Leon Vincken of trade association Vbe NL even calls the situation in the sector “dramatic".
Consequences for catering, festivals and events
Now that all measures have been lifted and we are going to catering establishments, events, festivals and flying holidays again, this will be severe shortage of security guards increasingly clear.
Particularly for large events and festivals, security companies cannot always provide enough security personnel to keep them going, especially if they are organized last minute. Add to that the increased aggression in the nightlife, and it is clear: it is necessary to invest heavily in the security industry now and to train new security personnel, in order to safety at (major) events, festivals and in the hospitality industry to guarantee.