The Importance of Being Educated

Dale J. Venturini

President/CEO, RI Hospitality Association

An economic downturn, such as the one we have experienced in Rhode Island over the last several years, presents many challenges for businesses in the hospitality industry. Year after year, restaurant owners, hotel operators, general managers and supervisors on all levels are forced to make difficult decisions on a multitude of issues that affect the bottom line, including operating budgets, staffing levels, and training opportunities.

Since the RI Hospitality Education Foundation (RIHEF) was created in 1994, we have provided continuing education and training opportunities to hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders so that we may better serve our customers and clients. Our programs include state-mandated training on food safety and alcohol service, as well as seminars on customer service, cost control, taxation, and general skills needed for advancement. The RIHEF also provides many opportunities for students preparing to enter the hospitality industry, such as job shadowing, job fairs, access to expert guest speakers and most important, practical, hands-on experience.

The RI Hospitality Education Foundation also assists a third group of workers: adults training to begin a career in hospitality for the first time. At a time when Rhode Island’s unemployment rate remains north of 11 percent, many people are turning to restaurants and hotels in hopes of a promising, new career.

One organization RIHEF is proud to partner with is Dorcas Place, a non-profit adult literacy and learning center that strives to help low-income adults realize their full potential through literacy, employment, advocacy and community involvement.

Through our classes offered with Dorcas Place, we have been able to reach workers who may not have otherwise had the chance to be exposed to the opportunities that an exciting career in hospitality can present. By teaming up with Dorcas Place, we have also opened new doors to those already in hospitality by working hard to improve their literacy skills.

However, in an ironic twist, the same economic downturn that has caused Rhode Island’s unemployment rate to balloon is also limiting career training at the exact time when it is needed most because the grants and funds used to offset the cost are no longer readily available.

Due to a dramatic reduction in workforce development grants, RIHEF has lost a staggering $500,000 of its annual funding for 2011. The impact that this loss of funding will have cannot be overstated. It means we will not be able to assist thousands of Rhode Island residents who presently find themselves out of work, desperately searching for a new career at a time when jobs are scarce, all before their unemployment benefits run out.

This funding helps countless workers. Since 2009, programs sponsored by the RI Hospitality Education Foundation have provided training to more than 5,000 hospitality employees, students and adult learners.

Hospitality-based businesses employ more than 60,000 Rhode Island residents. In fact, hospitality is the fourth largest industry in Rhode Island, making it an economic engine that helps to fuel the success of the entire state. The Ocean State is already home to many top-notch restaurants and hotels. But, in order to remain competitive, it is crucial that our workforce is provided with the funding for the career training and continuing education programs that are paramount to our success.

The lawmakers responsible for budget and grant monies may never see the training, the classroom time, or the incredible extra effort that we put forth behind closed doors to ensure that we are at our very best. But, one thing is certain: our customers, who we serve on a nightly basis, and those workers struggling to reinvent themselves during these tough economic times, will be the first ones to notice when that training is gone.