Heineken Looks to Hire People with Bar Experience to Overcome Major Staff Shortages in the Horeca Industry

Younger generations don’t find working in a bar appealing. According to GWI, GenZ is twice as career-focused as any generation before them. In other words: they don’t see bar work as a valuable experience for their career.

As a result, with more than 100,000 people leaving the industry since 2021 (Volkskrant), the Horeca industry has been confronted with unprecedented staff shortages, leading establishments to reduce their capacity or, in some cases, closing down. 

Ironically, the most sought-after skills by big companies according to the Linkedin Global Talent Trend Report are: communication, problem solving and teamwork. Exactly what you learn working in a bar.

Heineken believes that bar work can help young people build a successful career in every big company. That’s why the brand, one of the most attractive employers in the Netherlands, will officially recognise bar experience in the hiring process.

Publicis' Le Pub has launched 'Bar Experience', an initiative to help bars find staff, by showing young adults that bar work should not be overlooked because it’s a great opportunity to master lots of important skills such as: team management, verbal communication, logistics, customer service, sales, constructive criticism, active listening and more.

Heineken has created a dedicated Horeca job platform, www.Mijnhorecabaan.nl, on which potential candidates could apply for bar job opportunities. Once hired, the applicant will be provided with an official Heineken “Bar Experience” certificate by their employer. The brand also created an official LinkedIn version of the certificate, that can be uploaded on their profile by those who took a bar job. In the future, this certificate will support a candidate’s job application for positions within The HEINEKEN Company.

The backdoor of bars all across the Netherlands were chosen to convey this powerful message to potential candidates: “This backdoor can lead you to our front door.” With an invitation to young people to apply.

Heineken is the first company in the world to both officially certify and consider bar experience as valuable to get hired; we hope that soon other companies will join in as well, in an attempt to make working in a bar one of the most sought-after experiences preceding working in a big company and to finally end the Horeca staff shortage issue.

Els Dijkhuizen, marketing director at Heineken in the Netherlands said: “My own time working at a bar gave me precious experience that still helps me with my job as Heineken’s Marketing Director: understanding customers, communications, promotion... That’s why we also want to invite other companies to hire people with bar experience. Because an employee that can handle a Friday night happy hour, can handle everything. No comparison.” 

Bruno Bertelli, global CEO of Le Pub, global CCO Publicis Worldwide and CCO Publicis Groupe said: “With this initiative, Heineken is not only recognizing bar work as a key requirement to get hired at any big company, but is elevating its value as a profession, while supporting bars in their recruitment drive. A witty and creative twist to a cultural and contemporary phenomenon. After all, what better experience is there to work at Heineken than having served the brand’s customers directly.”