By Dale J. Venturini
President & CEO, Rhode Island Hospitality & Tourism Association
In the current installment of the reality TV show, The Apprentice, teams of budding entrepreneurs were tasked with running hospitality businesses in the first two challenges – the first working at a Burger King franchise and marketing a new burger, and the second to renovate and operate a seaside motel. In both instances, the teams that won excelled in customer service. If Donald Trump, one of the most successful business leaders in America, recognizes that the skills learned working in the hospitality industry are transferable to success in the board room, who are we to argue?
In fact, an overwhelming majority of the nation’s CEOs worked in the hospitality industry at one point in their career, and I’m certain that many will tell you that their time spent in the hospitality industry is where they learned the value of hard work.
The Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association works in partnership with state and local work programs to help train people in hospitality jobs and get them into the workforce, where they earn much more than a paycheck, they earn the satisfaction of taking pride in working. The hospitality industry teaches valuable skills, which are transferable to other industries. A waitress is doing much more than taking an order; she is practicing customer service and sales. A hotel front desk clerk troubleshoots problems. The skills learned in the hospitality industry are some of the most transferable to other job segments, including marketing, sales, accounting, quality control and customer service.
The hospitality industry offers more than an opportunity for an entry-level position; it offers the opportunity for advancement, as the hospitality industry offers more opportunities for advancement of women and minorities than any other industry.
Additionally, the hospitality industry offers opportunities for people who are entering the workforce for the first time, as well as provides a forum for professionals who wish to learn a new skill. It is an industry in which, through hard work and tenacity, the American dream of owning a business can be achieved.
In a time when job growth in other markets is slow, if not completely stagnant in Rhode Island, the hospitality industry is a job generator. We should be looking to see how we can continue to grow this industry, and use the skills needed to be successful, and translate that into other job segments.
In fact, an overwhelming majority of the nation’s CEOs worked in the hospitality industry at one point in their career, and I’m certain that many will tell you that their time spent in the hospitality industry is where they learned the value of hard work.
The Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association works in partnership with state and local work programs to help train people in hospitality jobs and get them into the workforce, where they earn much more than a paycheck, they earn the satisfaction of taking pride in working. The hospitality industry teaches valuable skills, which are transferable to other industries. A waitress is doing much more than taking an order; she is practicing customer service and sales. A hotel front desk clerk troubleshoots problems. The skills learned in the hospitality industry are some of the most transferable to other job segments, including marketing, sales, accounting, quality control and customer service.
The hospitality industry offers more than an opportunity for an entry-level position; it offers the opportunity for advancement, as the hospitality industry offers more opportunities for advancement of women and minorities than any other industry.
Additionally, the hospitality industry offers opportunities for people who are entering the workforce for the first time, as well as provides a forum for professionals who wish to learn a new skill. It is an industry in which, through hard work and tenacity, the American dream of owning a business can be achieved.
In a time when job growth in other markets is slow, if not completely stagnant in Rhode Island, the hospitality industry is a job generator. We should be looking to see how we can continue to grow this industry, and use the skills needed to be successful, and translate that into other job segments.
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