PROJECTS

ONTARIO RESTAURANT HOTEL & MOTEL ASSOCIATION - PASSPORT TO HOSPITALITY WORK PROSPERITY, 2022

Accommodation Workforce Development Specialist

The Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association (ORHMA) is taking a leadership role in helping to solve the labour crisis within the hospitality industry. The Passport to Hospitality Work Prosperity Program was designed by ORHMA to mutually support its hospitality sector stakeholders as well as prospective employees and those seeking to enter the hospitality industry.

The comprehensive program provided a 9-week training session that included new learnings, recertifications, and upskilling, in which participants received industry-recognized credentials such as Smart Serve, WHMIS, and Food Handler Safety Certifications. Participants who graduated were then placed with a hospitality-sector employee in their area of interest for a 3-week work-integrated learning experience. Through leveraging the BCI network of hotel and food service employers in the province, alongside the wide network of ORHMA members, Leni, and her teammates were able to secure Employer Partners in which to place each of the graduates of the training program.

A unique aspect of this workforce development project is that both the learners and employers received financial assistance for their participation. ORHMA’s objectives were to empower job seekers to venture into the hospitality sector and to help its members reduce their critical labour shortages.