Announcement
Hospitality Link Training at the Embassy Suites DC
Photo: Marta Tewolde
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Silver Spring is one of five IRC offices piloting Hospitality Link, a job training program. Participants learn widely usable soft skills, explore career paths in hospitality and visit local employers to see hospitality workers in action. Like many employment programs at the IRC in Silver Spring, Hospitality Link emphasizes “career laddering.” The program equips participants with skills to secure their first job in the U.S. and guidance for career advancement. And the program thrives on past successes, such as former IRC client Saron who began her career as a housekeeper at a local hotel. Three years later, Saron had advanced to the Housekeeping Supervisor and was responsible for hiring and training other refugees.
Each Hospitality Link participant attends classroom training and receives one-on-one job search support. Classroom topics were built in partnership with local hotels and include communication skills, problem-solving, customer service, resume writing, and interview skills. Upon completing the program, participants are individually guided through application and interview process by IRC staff. Plus, they have access to partner employers such as Hilton Worldwide.
Since 2013, Hilton has supported the IRC by hiring refugees, providing guest speakers for job trainings, and co-sponsoring career fairs hosted by the IRC in Silver Spring. Through the Hilton Worldwide partnership, Hospitality Link participants supplement classroom time with experiential learning.
A Hilton Worldwide property, Embassy Suites DC Convention Center hosted a supplemental training for one recent Hospitality Link cohort. Participants toured the hotel, heard from senior hotel staff who moved up from entry-level positions, trained in guest-room and banquet table set-up, queried staff about their day-to-day responsibilities, and participated in mock interviews, where immediate one-on-one feedback was provided. One participant stated that “my expectations for this visit were so high. My hope was to get my first job at Hilton."
Marta Tewolde, Employment Programs Supervisor at the IRC in Silver Spring, fully embraces experiential learning, noting that “client morale is boosted when they are made of aware of what is possible [in the hospitality industry].” Erin Sorenson, the AmeriCorps Volunteer primarily responsible for implementing the Hospitality Link program, agrees with Marta, noting that:
“In the classroom, the client is exposed to abstractions- how to present oneself at an interview, how to handle a customer complaint. This opportunity reinforces that this job, hospitality, is a reality. Having clients hear stories from current employees [about] their experiences [in the hospitality industry] helps our clients to see that these jobs are gateways to opportunities. It is not just housekeeping, guest services… there’s maintenance, operations, HR—there are a lot of possibilities.”
Since April 2017, the program has graduated over 60 clients. While the program grantor is Trip Advisor, the program is working to expand its partnerships with other hospitality sector leaders. Also, in recognition of the range of English language proficiency among its clientele, program implementers launched a training specifically targeting limited English proficient clients in September 2017.
After the Embassy Suites-sponsored training, Tigist, originally from Ethiopia, secured a busser position at a local hotel. Reflecting on the Hospitality Link program, Tigist said, “I learned the basics of hospitality, customer service, tolerance, person to person communication, teamwork. The [instruction on] interview skills [and interview] questions helped me a lot.” Tigist’s short term goal is to increase her work hours to full time, and she views her current job as a step on her “career ladder” towards her ultimate goal – to become a chef. For Tigist, the Embassy Suites training “was a bright ray of light to help me get my first job in the USA.”