DUBAI: Hospitality chain, SFC Group, which currently has 200 Filipinos on board, will be hiring more for its expansion projects, Sajeev Sukumaran, the company’s Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) director, told The Filipino Times.
“We hire mostly Filipinos for all our front-end roles like cashier, counter team, and so on. Currently, Filipinos are the second largest in number in SFC Plus. We will be hiring Filipinos,” Sukumaran said. He added, “We also have Nepalis, Sri Lankans, Egyptians and Indians. UAE is a melting pot of nationalities and we as a group follow this diversity.”
The company has announced it will invest Dh60 million to expand its QSRs called SFC Plus in the UAE. The company proposes to add 25 new SFC Plus restaurants over the next four years to capitalize on the growing popularity of the QSR concept in the UAE. “We have approximately 200 Filipinos in SFC Plus, which contributes 38 percent of the total company strength,” said Sukumaran. He said SFC Group is “in the planning stages… and will be hiring more staff for the upcoming restaurants.”
“The company hires people all around the year. We have interviews going on a daily basis and also hire people from overseas locations,” Sukumaran said, adding that on average, the company hires 10 to 15 people every month. “For all new projects, we hire based on need and project schedule.
We hire people based on project schedule. Normally one month before the project’s opening, we get the team on board. Always, the existing people are nominated to open new outlets and the new batch come and get trained to handle existing outlets,” Sukumaran said. At a recent press conference, SFC Group officials said the company will open four restaurants across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
SFC Plus has recently embarked on a new brand campaign and unveiled its mascot called Captain Cluck. K. Muraleedharan, Chairman and Managing Director, SFC Group said, “The QSR segment in the UAE represents a terrific opportunity for us with an emergent young population and growing disposable incomes, resulting in higher propensity among consumers to socialize and eat out.
SFC plus is an established and popular brand in the UAE given its quality and service. The brand’s popularity stems from its customization to suit local tastes and flavours that resonate across all our customers.” SFC Plus currently has 26 restaurants spread across the UAE. The first SFC restaurant in the UAE was opened in 1993 in Abu Dhabi. SFC Plus is popular for its skinless fried chicken, freshly baked pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and fresh salads, customized to fulfill distinct customer preferences.
