Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism

As I transitioned to supporting the Strong Workforce Team, I took on responsibilities with the Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Grant. When I joined, the team had already hosted an Industry Advisory Board to assess the viability of a hospitality program focused on hotels. However, as a team, we grew concerned about the timeline required to develop curriculum within our district, especially given the goal to implement courses by Spring 2024. We realized that we were not yet ready to begin the necessary curriculum discussions.

Feedback from the advisory group highlighted a shift in focus from large hotel chains to smaller food and beverage businesses. We communicated these findings and our timeline concerns to the grantors, and discovered that other campuses were facing similar challenges. After re-evaluating our approach, we decided to develop a First-Time Managers Certificate aimed at training employees of small businesses who aspire to become managers. The certificate will include a First-Time Managers course, along with additional modules, to build capacity in these businesses to meet the demands of the 2028 Olympic Games.

We are currently finalizing the curriculum and collaborating with small business owners who have expressed interest in enrolling their employees in cohort-based classes. This model will help support enrollment and create a community of learners. Additionally, we plan to offer these classes in formats that accommodate students’ schedules. Our goal is to launch the program for students by Fall 2025 or Spring 2026.

Phase Two of the grant focuses on developing a program in Tourism. Our objective is to create a course outline that can be adopted by campuses and expanded into stackable certificates. Currently, I participate in 2-3 weekly meetings where we collaboratively design the course outline. This project is highly involved, and I’m learning a great deal from the process. We’re using current industry data to inform the course design, ensuring that the curriculum aligns with real-world needs and standards.

Once the outline is finalized, I’ll present it to my team to explore the development of a noncredit certificate and to assess potential updates to our current offerings.