North Devon Tourism Firms Feeling Summer Job Rush

Attractions and holiday parks throughout the North Devon area are experiencing the usual rush of applications for summer work in the local holiday industry. Suggesting that “Mr and Mrs Average” feel that there is a sense of optimism about the coming summer season, it appears as though applications are running at the usual high level.

One local firm, John Fowler Holidays, a company that operates three parks in North Devon, saw more than 370 people apply for just 31 seasonal jobs this year. They run one park in Ilfracombe and two in Combe Martin.  Ollie Fowler is the senior manager and said although most of the vacancies went to returning staff, his firm also saw around 12 people apply for each of the 25 part-time and six full-time jobs advertised – a significant increase on other years.

Ollie said, “The park manager here at Ilfracombe said she had never seen the numbers of applicants go over three or four per job before. People won’t say when they come to interview that they are desperate for a job, but the sheer number of applicants for positions suggests that. We really do connect with the local employment market, and as it is such a big thing for us, we try to make it our sole purpose to employ people locally.”

North Devon is a fantastic tourism destination

Lynn Reynolds, who is the commercial manager at Exmoor Zoo, said that 125 people had applied for the one full-time job in the zoo café in the space of just five days. “The advert was originally booked in the Job Centre for two weeks but we had to close applications after five days due to the high level of interest,” she said.

Another popular attraction in North Devon is The Big Sheep at Abbotsham, where 400 job applications were received for just 15 jobs this year, while the Unison Croyde Bay Holiday Resort received 100 applications for around 10 vacancies. Spokesman for the company, Anne Tattersall, said that the company always took the time to respond to young people who apply for jobs.

“This is something we feel quite passionately about; as an employer you have a responsibility to respond to youngsters who have taken the time and effort to apply. It can damage their confidence when they don’t hear back, and we should be nurturing that. I would urge all employers to respond to applicants either way.”

Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks said it was experiencing a ‘high level’ of interest in the 200 seasonal jobs available at the park, and this had been so since the start of the year. It was difficult to quantify exact numbers, but a  spokesperson said the park started recruiting for Golden Coast in February, and the other three parks in March, mostly for housekeeping positions. “We had masses of phone calls, not just lately for the three parks, but back in February for the opening of the Golden Coast,” she said.

A spokesperson for Park Resorts Limited, which operates Bideford Bay Holiday Park, near Bucks Cross, said it received in the region of 100 applications for jobs this year and was still receiving applications. “According to the seasonal staff figures, we have recruited 60 staff with another 10 needed,” a spokesperson told the Gazette.