First hospitality training course at Jefferson a success

Our first hospitality training class graduated in June at our Jefferson Career Exploration Center. In partnership with The Service Collaborative of WNY Inc., we started our first cohort of classes in April with a small group of students to provide them with the opportunity to explore careers in the hospitality industry and develop the skills needed for specific jobs in that field.

The classes focus on two main areas of hospitality: housekeeping attendant and front desk representative. Classes are held four days a week at Jefferson and instructed by Joelle Amico, our Hospitality Workforce Development Specialist. A certified curriculum is used to guide the classes and teach students the fundamentals of the hospitality industry.

“The students who have signed up for these classes want to better themselves and want to explore the opportunities that are available to them,” Joelle said.

Over the duration of the course, students received hands-on practice in our mock hotel room at Jefferson, toured hotels in the Western New York area, and had the chance to job shadow professionals in the field.

A small graduation ceremony was held in June where students were presented with their certifications from the American Hotel & Lodging Association. We are thrilled that our first class passed their testing with flying colors and look forward to working with our next group of students!