As the hospitality and tourism industry continues to rebound from impacts of the pandemic, North Carolina restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions and venues continue to struggle with lingering labor shortages. The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association (NCRLA) Foundation has contracted with the NC Department of Commerce to administer a $1.1 million hospitality workforce training program.
“We continue to hear from business owners that one of the greatest challenges they face every day is workforce shortages,” said NCRLA President and CEO Lynn Minges. “This program will help address that problem by providing FREE training courses, certifications and educational resources to help attract, expand and retain talent needed to fuel North Carolina restaurants, hotels and other hospitality and tourism-related businesses.”
The free training resources are now available through NCRLA Foundation’s new online portal, NCRLA.training. All courses, credentials and certifications offered are nationally recognized as best in class for the hospitality industry.
This comprehensive training program is designed to upskill and advance careers of individuals currently employed in the North Carolina hospitality and tourism industry and attract new and returning industry workers. Specific targets for this training program include: Career and Technical Education Programs, Post-Secondary Education Programs, Workforce Entry and Re-Entry and Employees Currently Working in the Hospitality Industry.
Businesses and nonprofit entities that are currently hiring or offering career advancement opportunities to existing employees, and state and nonprofit entities that employ front-line and management level employees in the hospitality and tourism industry, are also encouraged to take advantage of the program.
This program is supported by the American Rescue Plan Act and represents one project of several designed to address the impact from COVID-19 on the hospitality, tourism and outdoor recreation industries. The program works with partnership with the N.C. Department of Commerce and the N.C. Pandemic Recovery Office.
Interested applicants can apply at NCRLA.training. For more information about the program, contact training@ncrla.org.