To address the need for hospitality workers in the state, properties like Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan are partnering with the college’s hospitality management program, while offering students entry-level positions or internships and benefits packages.
The demand for tourism workers in Wisconsin is exceeding supply, prompting businesses and educators to develop new strategies to attract workers and train the next generation of managers, Skift reported.
Tourism was an $18.5 billion industry in 2014 and accounts for almost 200,000 jobs in Wisconsin. Blue Harbor Resort, Spa and Conference Center in Sheboygan, The Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake and Destination Kohler partnered this spring with nearby Lakeland College to help train employees, Skift reported.
“With an indoor water park and a large conference center, we’ve got very good business year round, but that doesn’t mean it’s really easy to get, and keep, employees,” said David Sanderson, Vice President and General Manager for Blue Harbor. “The challenge becomes internal with our management team, ‘What do we do as leaders to make us more of an employer of choice?’”
It offers students entry-level positions or internships while also help addressing the need of finding and keeping qualified employees. He said that goes beyond pay to offering benefits and partnering with Lakeland College, which offers a hospitality management program, Skift reported.
“If they come in as a freshman, when they graduate they’re going to have the equivalent or two years of work experience,” Sanderson said. “We think that’s a win for the employer, a win for Lakeland in its ability to recruit more students, and it’s a win for the employee because they should be able to leverage that into better job opportunities.”
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development said it expects jobs in the hospitality sector to grow 9 percent by 2022. Heavy tourism spots such as Door County, Wisconsin Dells and Lake Geneva sometimes end up having to hire workers from other countries, Skift reported.
Rowleys Bay Resort in Ellison Bay, Wis., is a 75-room resort that includes lodging, five cabins, a buffet-style restaurant and pub. It is operated by 45 staff members, about 15 fewer than the ideal staffing level, Skift reported.
“The people I have are amazing, but there’s not quite enough of them. Ever,” said owner and manager Jewel Peterson Ouradnik.
The resort is about an hour away from Sturgeon Bay, the largest city in the county, and many nearby residents are retired, Skift reported.
“We want to hire Americans above anything, we want to keep our jobs in the states,” Peterson Ouradnik said, adding that not enough Americans apply. “I spent all winter interviewing by Skype to find out if they’re a good fit for us.”
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