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  • About ORLA
    • Contact Us
    • ORLA Board
    • Foundation Board
    • ORLAMS Board
    • ORLA Staff
    • Year in Review 2021
    • Restaurant Facts
  • Membership
    • Reopening Safely >
      • Commitment to Safety Seal
    • Restaurant Benefits >
      • OR Restaurant Covid Assistance
    • Lodging Benefits >
      • Update Your Lodging Listing
    • Allied Benefits
    • Cost-Saving Member Programs >
      • ASCAP
      • BMI
      • Dell
      • Clover
      • GNSA
      • Guardian Group
      • Liberty Mutual
      • Office Depot
      • ORLA 401K
      • SAIF
      • UnitedHealth Group
      • Hospitality Hub
  • Advocacy
    • 2021 Legislative Session & Bills
    • COVID-19 Resources & Announcements
    • FAQ / Industry Guidance (COVID-19)
    • Federal Action
    • Relief for Employers & Employees
    • ORLA Outcomes
    • ORLA Relief Efforts
    • Lottery
    • Meet the Team
    • ORLAPAC >
      • Donate to PAC
    • Portland Chapter
    • Take Action
    • Tip Pooling
  • Foundation
    • Donate
    • Oregon Travel Gifts Fundraiser
    • Foundation Board
    • Guest Service Training >
      • Guest Service Gold®
      • Guest Service During Covid
    • Hospitality Help Fund >
      • Takeout And A Movie
      • Restaurant Fund Application
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      • ProStart Invitational
      • ProStart Resources
    • Workforce >
      • Best Practices
  • Training
    • Alcohol Server Training
    • Crisis Services and Training
    • Food Handler Training
    • GUEST SERVICE TRAINING >
      • Guest Service Gold®
      • GUEST SERVICE DURING COVID
    • Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy
    • ServSafe®
    • Webinars & Workshops
    • Workforce Development
  • News & Events
    • PRESS RELEASES
    • Subscribe
    • Awards >
      • Hospitality Industry Awards
      • Restaurant Awards
    • Boiled Down Podcast
    • Calendar
    • ORLA Events
    • Digital Publications
    • NW Food Show
    • OREGON PROSTART INVITATIONAL
    • Webinars & Workshops
  • Resources
    • Advertise With Us
    • Buyer's Guide
    • Compliance & ADA
    • Cost-Saving Programs
    • Crisis Services & Training
    • Disasters and Workplace Security
    • FAQs
    • Federal & State Agencies
    • Lodging Listings
    • OR Restaurant Covid Assistance
    • Sustainability >
      • Reducing Food Waste
    • Tourism Partners

ProStart Resources for Educators and Students

9/14/2020

 
Picture
Educator Resources

ProStart Curriculum
Are you interested in transitioning to a CTE culinary program? ProStart® curriculum, hands on training, and experiences benefit your students as they learn how to choose items and make creative menus based on nutrition and budget, utilize safe sanitation techniques, and discover and practice important job readiness and ‘soft skills.’ These skills include communication, teamwork and decision-making, all while learning about the multiple high opportunity / high wage careers the food service industry offers.

“Foundations of Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts” was developed by subject-matter experts and is published by the NRAEF. The two levels of the curriculum – Level One and Level Two – are not designed to be sequential; this makes it possible for small schools with limited resources to offer the ProStart program to students. 

  • For general information, download the ProStart Overview. 
  • The Teacher's Resource Kit includes easy-to-follow steps for implementing the program and establishing outreach activities.
  • Detailed lesson plans help you prepare with a minimum amount of time and effort.
  • Videos and power points for each chapter are helpful supplementary materials
  • Case studies and professional profiles accompany each chapter, aligning content with real-world examples.
  • 2nd edition curriculum entitled "Foundations of Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts" includes online e-text access, allowing online access outside the classroom. Learn more about the new curriculum.
  • ODE culinary requirements and ProStart curriculum
  • Sample pacing guide of ProStart curriculum
​
To learn more about resources available, what fits your needs and budget or to order ProStart® curriculum for your school, contact Irina Bakun at 971.224.1515.

Distance Learning
  • START (Skills, Tasks, And Results Training) offers classroom curriculum for hospitality through AHLEI. The training focuses on knowledge all employees need (professionalism, safety, etc.), as well as job specific knowledge. Students can gain industry recognized certifications that will help them secure a job and move up the career ladder. For more information certifications available or the program as a whole please visit AHLEI.org/program/start.
  • ServSuccess is an interactive online program through NRAEF that uses artificial intelligence to help students through the course. Certified Restaurant Professional focuses on practical front and back-of-the-house information, as well as service culture, product quality, cost control and branding and marketing. This course is fitting for students who are working in the industry and wish to take their career to the next level. For more information on this new, innovative program please visit Servsuccess.com.
  • August Escoffier School of Culinary Arts is offering ProStart Teachers free video lessons to enhance your students’ e-learning experience!
  • Rouxbe, an ACF recognized, online culinary program has created an integrated high school platform that allows educators to assign video lessons, assignments and exams all in one place. For more information email Irina Bakun with the Oregon Hospitality Foundation.
  • Chef Brian Peffley has created a library of baking videos for his students and is sharing these videos with ProStart educators around the country to use for their classrooms 
  • ACF has been a long supporter of the ProStart, students and educators. In response to the pandemic and schools switching to distance learning, the Harrisburg Chapter has created a video library for teachers, broken down by topic. New videos are added regularly. 

​Food Waste Education
Utilize this free, interactive Hotel|Kitchen toolkit to demonstrate how different roles in the kitchen and hotels can impact waste, as well the bottom line. ​

ProStart Teacher's Education Session Fall 2019 Resources
In November 2019 Metro's Sustainability and Food Waste team gave a presentation to ProStart teachers on food systems, food waste and climate change. Access Metro and Sustainability curriculum, presentation and additional Food Waste Prevention Resources online. 

NRAEF Summer Institutes
Work towards earning the NRAEF Certified Secondary Foodservice Educator certification. You will learn from faculty composed of nationally-recognized content experts, network among peers, and tour restaurant and foodservice facilitiesRegistration for the NRAEF Summer Institutes is now open. Learn more. ​​​


Student Resources

ProStart® prepares you to explore a wide range of career opportunities. Careers in nutrition, hospitality management, viticulture, product development, agriculture, culinary arts and customer service are just a few of the options for ProStart® students.

The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Education Foundation (ORLAEF) and the National Restaurant Association are proud to offer Oregon ProStart seniors a scholarship opportunity in support of post secondary education. 

​Guest Service Gold Scholarships for Students
NRAEF has funded a limited number of free scholarships, value at $30, for students to earn an internationally accredited CTE-recognized certification, Certified Guest Service Professional, using a curriculum with real Oregon employees and their stories of customer challenges. More than 800 Oregon industry professionals have been certified since the program’s launch. Contact Sue Smith at 800.462.0619 for scholarship codes.

National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF) Scholarships
Students, military servicemen and women and others can now apply for scholarship awards to pursue their dreams of becoming future leaders of the restaurant and foodservice industry. Awards range from $2,500 to $10,000 and can be used towards tuition and fees, books, room and board and other school-related expenses. The scholarships have no age restrictions. Individuals can apply at any age, whether they're recent high-school graduates or adults looking to make a career change. Learn more and apply.
  • View more information on Culinary Scholarships.
​
Industry-Related Programs and Courses
These facilities offer skills-based education for those looking to gain proficiencies to help them enter the hospitality industry as well as programs geared to those already employed who want to add credentials to their experience. See list of schools on ORLAEF's page.
​
Career Pathways
Try a new and simple tool to explore a broad selection of restaurant and foodservice positions and chart a course that matches your skills with your career goals. Explore the tool. 

Learn more about how ORLAEF partners with the industry to provide workforce development solutions.

ProStart Invitational Resources

​The 2020 ProStart Invitational was held Monday, March 2, 2020, at the Salem Convention Center. Download forms, templates and documents related to the event:​
  • 2020 ProStart Invitational Program (final)
  • 2020 Oregon ProStart Invitational - Competition Schedule
  • 2020 Oregon Culinary Only Rule
  • 2020 Culinary Judge Rubric
  • 2020 Culinary Scoresheets
  • 2020 Oregon Management Only Rules
  • 2020 Management Judge Rubric
  • 2020 Management Scoresheets
  • Very Important Dates​
  • Team Registration
  • Student Waiver
  • Rules
  • Plate Order Form 
  • Participant Registration (Non-Competing Schools)
  • Culinary Worksheets
  • ​2019 Program for the Invitational (for reference) 
  • ​Management Competition (powerpoint slides)
  • National Educator of Excellence Award Nomination Form 

OREGON HOSPITALITY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES FIRST AWARDS TO RESTAURANTS FEEDING FRONTLINE WORKERS AND FOOD INSECURE CITIZENS DURING PANDEMIC

5/27/2020

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Takeout & A Movie’s first virtual screening of PHOENIX OREGON provided the funding for 11,500 meals through a grant from the Grubhub Community Relief Fund, ticket sales and OHF support. 

PORTLAND, Oregon – May 27, 2020 – While the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everyone, the hospitality industry was the first hit by closures and one that has been most devastated by its impact. The Oregon Hospitality Foundation (OHF) is proud to announce its first round of awards to restaurants throughout Oregon who responded to the incredible need for food and created innovative programs to help feed their communities – from essential workers to unemployed restaurant staff and food-insecure neighbors. In addition to the generous support from the Grubhub Community Relief Fund, OHF will donate proceeds from its virtual event series, Takeout & A Movie to support statewide restaurants that are making a difference in our communities. Future movie events will support other initiatives such as culinary training programs.

According to the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, as of April 2020, 81% of restaurant employees, approximately 127,000 people in Oregon, had been laid off or furloughed. “Being of service is at the heart of the hospitality industry,” said OHF Executive Director Wendy Popkin. “The Oregon Hospitality Foundation is proud to help raise funds and contribute to family-owned restaurants across the state who are stepping up to meet the needs of people in their communities.”

OHF Hospitality Help Fund Restaurant Awards
The first round of restaurants to receive funds for their work to feed frontline workers, food insecure citizens, and unemployed service industry professionals, include:
  • Botanist House, Portland: Created a new model to use ongoing donations to hire drivers and deliver 750 meals per day to unemployed service industry professionals.
  • Restaurant O, Coos Bay: Created the Pay it Forward program to provide meals to homeless children, first responders and foster care families.
  • Rudy’s Steakhouse, Salem: Created the program Crisis Meals to provide meals to first responders and unemployed workers. To date, Rudy’s has provided over 8,000 meals in the local Salem community.
  • 7 Devil’s Public House, Coos Bay: Created the Community Meal Program to provide family-sized take-and-bake meals to unemployed service industry workers, as well as comforting soup deliveries to the homeless community.
  • Toro Bravo Restaurant Group, Portland: Created the Feed it Forward PDX program to feed the homeless community at P:ear, Rose Haven, and New Avenues for Youth. They also provided free food bags for anyone in need and a sliding scale pay structure for meals to healthcare workers on the frontline.

Oregon restaurants interested in applying for these funds can complete an online application here.

Takeout & A Movie Event Helps to Fund over 11,500 Meals
OHF’s new fundraising event, Takeout & A Movie kicked off in May with its first virtual screening of the film PHOENIX OREGON followed by a Q&A with the film’s directors and actors, hosted by OHF Executive Director Wendy Popkin. The successful event was a partnership with Joma Film’s Annie Lundgren. Via a generous donation from the Grubhub Community Relief Fund, event ticket sales and money contributed from OHF, enough money was raised to fund an estimated 11,500 meals. The next movie in the series will be announced in June. 

About Oregon Hospitality Foundation
The Oregon Hospitality Foundation (OHF) was established in 1992 and is a nonprofit 501c3 that supports the charitable relief needs and ongoing educational and training requirements of Oregon’s Hospitality industry. OHF’s partners include restaurants, lodging, attractions and other tourism businesses and organizations throughout Oregon. Recently, OHF created the Oregon Hospitality Help Fund as an emergency relief fund to raise money for its hospitality partners whose businesses and employees are struggling during the pandemic. For more information about supporting our work with a donation or sponsorship, please visit www.oregonhospitalityfoundation.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.


Media Contact:
Lisa Hill, Lisa@lisahillpr.com, 503.730.8055
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Free Industry Training

4/13/2020

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Free Professional Development and Food Safety Courses Offered by the Restaurant and Lodging Industry and Scholarships for Continuing Education 
 
Coronavirus is on everyone’s mind as its effects are being felt around the world. We are all concerned for the health and safety of our families, friends, and colleagues. 

While positions in hospitality, like many industries, may be currently unavailable for employment, ours is one that that is known for its particular resilience. When it is once again safe, we believe that there will be pent up desire to travel and to dine out. These desires will create a need to hire skilled employees who can ‘hit the ground running’ and can fully participate in the evolving business models that are being created. 
 
The American Hotel & Lodging Foundation (AHLA Foundation) and the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF) are both offering complimentary access to several food safety and professional development online courses detailed below. The intent is to help support hospitality employees who are finding themselves at home with time to invest in their education, but who are lacking the funds to do so. Courses are focused on the foodservice and hotel industries. 
 
Scholarships are also being offered to hotel industry employees to help them pay for AHLA certifications that are not being offered for free and/or to pursue education goals such as earning a GED. ​
FREE INDUSTRY TRAINING
Questions about eligibility:

Q: Who is eligible to take each of the free courses offered?
A: Anyone who would like to take these courses may take them!
 
Q: Is there a limit to the number of courses someone can take from each entity?
A: There are no limits to how many courses someone may take.
 
Q: Who is eligible for a scholarship offered by the American Hotel & Lodging Foundation?
A: Please see the two different types of scholarships, and the qualifications for each, below.

More information about free training and scholarships can be found here: OregonRLA.org/freetraining.

We are proud to be partners in an industry that is seeking to take care of our furloughed employees in many ways, including this offer. We appreciate you sharing with anyone who can spread the word to individuals who can benefit.

Thank you,

Wendy Popkin, Executive Director
Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Education Foundation
View my profile on LinkedIn
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Willamette and McMinnville Take First in ProStart Invitational

3/2/2020

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Dessert
Nine Schools Competed in Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Education Foundation’s Statewide Competition Showcasing the Hospitality Industry’s Future Chefs
 
[March 2, 2020 - Salem, Oregon] – The challenge for the student chef teams was to prepare a three-course gourmet meal with only two butane burners in under an hour. Willamette High School pulled this off with excellence, winning top honors in the culinary competition at the ORLAEF ProStart Invitational, sponsored by Sysco. McMinnville High School took first in the management competition and also swept the category awards. The event was hosted by the Education Foundation of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLAEF) on March 2, 2020 in Salem, Oregon.
  
“It is with great pleasure Sysco Portland is once again proud to be the leading sponsor of the ProStart program. These young culinarians from our state are building skills that are foundational to their careers in the hospitality industry,” said Bobbie McDonald, Sysco Portland, title sponsor.
 
ProStart, one of the nation’s largest industry-supported career and technical education (CTE) programs, teaches high school students culinary and management skills needed by restaurant, hospitality and foodservice employers. Focused on culinary techniques and restaurant management skills, this competency-based curriculum also includes real-life restaurant experiences. The ORLAEF ProStart Invitational is the capstone of this two-year program, providing a public opportunity for students to showcase what they have learned.
 
Final results for the culinary competition:
  • First Place: Willamette High School
  • Second Place: North Eugene High School
  • Third Place: Seaside High School
  • Fourth Place: Crook County High School
  • Fifth Place: CTEC 
 
Final results for the management competition:
  • First Place: McMinnville High School
  • Second Place: South Salem High School
  • Third Place: CTEC 
 
Culinary Category Awards:
  • People’s Choice Award – North Salem High School
  • Teamwork – McMinnville High School
  • Professional Menu Presentation – Willamette High School
  • Sanitation – North Eugene High School
 
Management Category Awards:
  • Concept – McMinnville High School
  • Professional Presentation – McMinnville High School
 
ORLAEF ProStart Invitational Awards:
  • Teacher of the Year – Macy Hagensee, Crook County H.S.
  • Mentor of the Year – Chef Michael Thieme
  • Alumni of the Year – Cole Barnhardt
 
“The atmosphere at this event was electric,” said Wendy Popkin, executive director of ORLAEF. “The ProStart program does a remarkable job preparing high school students with fundamental skills such as communication, teamwork, time management and professionalism needed to enter the workforce.” 
 
Willamette High School’s winning menu included Cheese and Herb Agnolotti, Seared Halibut Blackberry Beurre Rouge, and Creme Caramel en Cage.
 
The teams from Willamette High School and McMinnville High School will head to the 2020 National ProStart Invitational® May 8-10, 2020, in Washington, D.C. These Oregon champions also receive a share of over $570,000 scholarships and prizes from local and national culinary schools to help further their careers in the restaurant and foodservice industry. 
 
Currently 33 Oregon schools, with more than 3,869 students, participate in the ProStart training program. Internationally, ProStart includes 150,000 students in 1,900 schools and technical centers across the United States, and in Guam and the Department of Defense Education Activity schools in Europe and the Pacific.
 
Visit OregonRLA.org/championships more information and photos from the ORLAEF ProStart Invitational.

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Teach Them How to Fish

1/3/2020

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ProStart event2019 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational
Rewarding Opportunities That Support Our Industry, Workforce

“Little did I know my culinary arts elective teacher... would be responsible for my graduating high school with honors, signing with my Division 1 dream team and being the first in my family to attend a four-year university…” - South Salem ProStart Student, Teacher Nomination 2019

​Philanthropy takes many forms. Sometimes you can easily see the impact of giving, like when someone who was cold walks away with a smile and a bit more energy after putting on a donated coat. Sometimes, however, you never really know how your actions and engagement may have a positive influence on someone, perhaps for a lifetime. 

Students who lack confidence and/or direction, as well as adults with socio-economic challenges seeking tools to help them become more self-dependent and stable, often thrive when positive role models and experiential learning are integrated with school and training programs. Interactions and reinforcements can also result in employment recruitment opportunities. When that happens with an industry partner who engages with our programs it represents the perfect wrap-around to the ORLA Education Foundation’s mission.

Why Do You Support ORLAEF’s Work?
  • “I have been observing and participating with ProStart for well over a decade… and found that (that it is)… highly effective in early engagement, compressed learning modules, and increasing student interest in pursuit of food service careers.” Cory Schreiber, Culinary Consultant, Sysco Portland
  • “I believe that it is important for our industry to support these students through sponsorship in order to help our industry grow through future generations.” Ryan McPhail, COO, Curtis Restaurant Equipment
  • “My most memorable experience was to partner with ORALEF to present a complimentary Guest Service Gold class to the community of Cascade Locks to assist them in their economic recovery after the devastating 2017 Eagle Creek Fire.” Paul Paz, WaitersWorld
  • “Guiding the drive and talent of our future workforce is something I don’t think twice about being involved in …not only rewarding, but I am blown away by their levels of execution and innovation at such a young age.” Seth Gruschow, Owner, Togather Restaurant Consultants
  • “I’m excited to volunteer with ORLAEF’s board because hospitality really is one of the last, truly upwardly mobile industries in our increasingly divided and polarized country… hospitality is awash with stories of exec chefs who started as dishwashers and general managers who started by parking cars or serving banquets.” Alex Thompson, Area Director of People and Culture, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
  • “ProStart has become a value and priority for me. The students have fresh ideas, hope and energy that they bring to the hospitality industry. They want mentoring and experience that we can give. I found a renewed excitement of the younger generation, a feeling of wanting to give more.” Treva Gambs, Owner, Gamberetti’s
  • “When we share our time, experience, and energy to help others succeed, we can exponentially multiply ‘the good’… it is rewarding to help students gain self-confidence and professional skills.” Michael Chamberlain-Torres, Hospitality Recruiter, Gecko Hospitality
  • “Thank you for always being there and for supporting us through this whole journey. Because of you, we made it to (ProStart) nationals; we wouldn’t have been able to do it without you! We appreciate so much all of the positive vibes and reinforcement.” Bend High School Students, ORLAEF ProStart Invitational State Winners’ Letter to Wendy Popkin, ORLAEF

How Can You Get Involved?
  1. Be Guest Speaker in a Classroom- Share your career, how you entered the industry, what helped you get ahead, what skills your position requires, and why you value your role in hospitality/culinary, and/or provide a demonstration.
  2. Host a Field Trip- Invite a ProStart class to tour your operation to give students a better view of how your business operates and the job opportunities your type of organization offers.
  3. Donate Money- ORLAEF is a 501c3 nonprofit and relies heavily on sponsorships and donations for our operational funds.
  4. Adopt a School- Become an active partner with a local school in your community and make a financial donation that supports both ORLAEF and the school’s needs.
  5. Use and Promote Our Industry Accredited Certifications and Training Programs- such as Certified Guest Service 
Professional (OregonGuestService.com), stackable credentials (AHLEI.org/certifications) and the new ServSuccess credentials (ServSuccess.com).
  6. Assist with the 2020 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational (OregonRLA.org/Invitational)- Support the students’ capstone projects by judging, volunteering to help with the event, and/or donating prizes.
  7. Create a Scholarship- Teachers as well as students often lack funds to support their continuing education needs.
  8. Donate Product- Many culinary programs are forced to limit the scope of hands-on experience for students because of the cost of food and/or the lack of commercial equipment. 
  9. Represent the Industry at a Career Fair- There are many middle school, high school, and social service opportunities to showcase our industry’s workforce opportunities.
  10. Volunteer to Serve on a School District or Community Workforce Board- “The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease” and hospitality is chronically underrepresented in the decision-making process about the industries that receive attention and funding for public education classes and workforce training programs.

“Philanthropy means the love of humanity. A conventional modern definition is, ‘private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life.’ Philanthropy has distinguishing characteristics separate from charity; A difference commonly cited is that charity aims to relieve the pain of a particular social problem, whereas philanthropy attempts to address the root cause of the problem—the difference between the proverbial gift of a fish to a hungry person, versus teaching them how to fish.” - Wikipedia

Please join us in our efforts to teach others how to fish, via supporting your foundation’s programs that aim to provide opportunities for rewarding jobs that help individuals create stable and fulfilling lives. Contact me via email
 or 971.224.1105. | Wendy Popkin, ORLAEF

About 
Wendy Popkin is the Executive Director for ORLA’s Education Foundation (ORLAEF), a nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting the educational and training needs of the hospitality industry. Wendy is a 30+-year career veteran who describes herself as “fanatically enthusiastic about helping others enjoy the same type of fabulous career opportunities I have enjoyed in the hospitality industry.”
 OregonRLA.org/EdFoundation

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Workforce Programs are a Brewin’

10/1/2019

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ORLA’s Education Foundation Savors Progress at a Steady Pace

“The way of progress is neither swift, nor easy” - Marie Curie

The hospitality industry may be behind others, such as healthcare, in terms of anticipating workforce challenges and creating a plan to address them.  However, with growing partner engagement, we are starting to see small but steady progress this year!

One notable achievement has been the ability of ORLAEF to hire a part-time ProStart and Foodservice Workforce Liaison. Irina Bakun’s focus is to assist culinary program teachers integrate foodservice/hospitality career awareness, experiences, and connections routinely into their teaching and activities. ORLAEF’s goal is to utilize Irina’s time and experience to work directly with districts, their teachers, and industry partners to help create clear pathways and opportunities for career exploration and employment. Funding came from a grant from the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. 

Other encouraging progress includes;

PORTLAND
ORLAEF’s partnership with Worksystems resulted in a pilot to use our industry’s guest service training curriculum with nine of its social service workforce training partners. The agency’s clients will learn valuable skills AND more about jobs in our industry.

OREGON COAST
Thanks to collaboration with the Oregon Coast Visitor’s Association, we have created a strong partnership with Northwest Oregon Works. The workforce development agency helped fund in-person training for prospective employees using AHLEI’s stackable credentials as well as current employees looking to upskill and advance their careers. Combined with a fall training effort, 74 industry certifications were earned.

SALEM AREA
ORLAEF is working in a pilot program with the area’s school districts, who support seven high school culinary training programs. Our joint goal is to build closer ties with local industry members and to create a model for productive and sustainable industry involvement with classes that focus on culinary and hospitality training.

RETENTION STUDY
We commissioned a best practices study with researchers from OSU’s Hospitality Management Program. Several Oregon businesses have implemented creative programs that have enhanced their employee retention. Watch the videos at Oregonrla.org/workforcepractices.

GUEST SERVICE GOLD ®
Since the training initiative’s launch, the course has been used by 1,833 individuals and resulted in 1,746 participants earning their Certified Guest Service Professional designation. To learn more about the course go to OregonGuestService.com.

SUPPORT
The leadership input and support from key partners who have contributed significant in-kind and cash resources has helped extend our reach via the programs above and also includes new industry training with food waste reduction. We are grateful to sponsors Travel Oregon, Sysco Portland, Vesta Hospitality, The Salem Convention Center, Metro, Curtis Restaurant Equipment, The Old Spaghetti Factory , and The Nines for their in-kind and monetary support as well as individual donors who have generously contributed monies.

Please consider helping us continue our work by becoming a sponsor, donating, and/or becoming involved with our school programs. | Wendy Popkin, ORLEF

“Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be.” ― C.S. Lewis

Wendy Popkin is the Executive Director for ORLA’s Education Foundation (ORLAEF), a nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting the educational and training needs of the hospitality industry. Wendy is a 30+-year career veteran who describes herself as “fanatically enthusiastic about helping others enjoy the same type of fabulous career opportunities I have enjoyed in the hospitality industry.”  Oregonrla.org/EdFoundation


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Addressing Workforce Challenges: New Ideas and Results!

7/1/2019

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  Engage en·​gage | \ in-ˈgāj  , en-\transitive verb
  1: to offer (something…) as backing to a cause or aim… to expose to risk for the attainment or support of some end (Merriam-Webster)
 
WORKFORCE.  Whenever you hear this word now among our industry it seems attached to another word, “lack.” Lack of recruits. Lack of skills. Lack of commitment.

Is this situation hopeless? It may seem that way to those who have not yet engaged in the myriad of ways hospitality industry partners have become involved in addressing these ‘lack of’ challenges. A few examples of partnerships ORLAEF is involved with may be inspirational!

RECRUITING AND BUILDING A PIPELINE Oregon has more than 3,000 high school students involved with ProStart. Without industry involvement and encouragement to pursue foodservice careers, the result of these students’ experience in the two-year culinary and management program could be just the memory of a fun elective course and a personal skill-builder.  In many states, however, this foodservice career exploration program has become an effective pipeline for future employees.

How to engage? For example, Sysco Portland realized that its foodservice clients cannot succeed without a healthy workforce, and so have made supporting ProStart and other culinary training programs a top priority via sponsorship, mentorship, and scholarships! Learn more about their ideas by listening to a recent Boiled Down podcast, #22-The Future Workforce, at OregonRLA.org/podcast.

Engagement can take many forms. Think about an adult that inspired you, a teacher, an employer, a coach—today’s youth need mentors just as much, if not more, than previous generations. I asked Irina Bakun, a former ProStart student herself, culinary school graduate, and chef why she volunteered to mentor students who were planning to compete in our state competition. Her response was enlightening as she noted the positive effects not only for the students, but for herself.

“Working with high school students is exciting. They keep you on your feet, they really test your knowledge and communication methods. A surprising by-product is that mentoring helped me polish my training skills. From personal experience as a ProStart student on a team that had a mentor, I know firsthand that the more students are engaged with professionals the better they can understand the demands of a professional schedule, what working in a kitchen is like and the skills they will be expected to have when they leave the classroom and enter the restaurant industry. Working together can forge a meaningful bond that can create rewarding lifelong relationships,” Irina explained. “Recently, a student that I mentored three years ago called and asked for a reference. It was great to hear he was still cooking and fact that I was still on his radar and he wanted my opinion and support!”

BUILDING SKILLS “Hire for attitude, train for skill” is a popular adage. Perhaps it feels more challenging when the pipeline feels dry, however. Going to the source, worksource agencies that is, may help. Kristin and Drew Roslund, owners of the Overleaf Lodge & Spa, took a leadership role by engaging with ORLAEF and the Oregon Coast Visitors Association to create a pilot training program targeting to unemployed residents in Lincoln County. The program uses internationally accredited skill-building curriculum to help participants better qualify and prepare for work in the hospitality industry. Scholarships, funded through Travel Oregon, also pay for participants to earn their certifications as Certified Guest Service Professionals, one of our industry’s most important skills.

In Portland, Travel Portland is also seeking to take an active role in helping stakeholders with workforce challenges and invited ORLAEF to exhibit at a recent Opportunity Youth Job Fair. One result, thanks to funding from Worksystems, Inc. in Portland, is that 200 youth took ORLA’s food handler course and are now applying for jobs! Worksystems is also now committing to using the Guest Service Gold Tourism training curriculum for the hundreds of youth who are seeking skills and jobs that it serves.

INCREASING EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT Decreasing turnover can have a big effect on the bottom line. ORLAEF was curious about best practices being used in Oregon that were having a positive effective on employee satisfaction which tracked to increased commitment and retention. We commissioned OSU Hospitality Management Department’s research team to do a study to identify and interview companies that we're seeing results from innovative programs. These practices, captured via video interviews, are encouraging. Employee engagement tactics range from offering soft-side benefits, to supporting associate wellness programs, to nurturing a family-friendly company culture, to sharing leadership roles. Become inspired by viewing these videos at OregonRLA.org/workforcepractices.

Albert Einstein is widely known with the quote,“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” Tired of the hearing the same workforce “lack of” words? Engage with ORLA’s Education Foundation as we seek to support innovative solutions to our industry’s workforce challenges. | Wendy Popkin
 
Wendy Popkin is the Executive Director for ORLA’s Education Foundation (ORLAEF), a nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting the educational and training needs of the hospitality industry. Wendy is a 30+-year career veteran who describes herself as “fanatically enthusiastic about helping others enjoy the same type of fabulous career opportunities I have enjoyed in the hospitality industry.”  www.OregonRLA.org/EdFoundation

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New Workforce Study

4/11/2019

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Best Practices for Reducing Employee Turnover, an Oregon Perspective

The Bottom Line. Those are perhaps the three most powerful words in any industry, but especially in hospitality where profitability margins can be paper-thin. While competitive wage, insurance, and health costs seem uncontrollable, the cost of recruiting and training new employees due to turnover can be minimized. Turnover cost savings drop to the bottom line the same as increasing sales or prices. The strategy of focusing on employee retention rates can also have a longer-term effect on overall labor costs, and the increased capabilities that veteran employees provide can positively affect guest loyalty and therefore increased profitability.

Pay Now or Pay Later. “Those managers who understand the value of employee retention and structure their organizations’ compensation systems and management practices to reinforce retention will outperform the competition… Any company that is experiencing a high degree of turnover is incurring unnecessary financial costs as well as decreases in service quality and the quality of work life.” (The Cost of Turnover: Putting a Price on the Learning Curve, The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 2000) 

Ideas That Work. ORLA’s Education Foundation commissioned Oregon State University’s Hospitality Management department to conduct research to identify and highlight organizations in Oregon who have created innovative practices that have resulted in improved employee retention. The study’s format is user-friendly and is presented as a series of short video interviews with eight companies who recognized the need to transform their view of the company’s relationship with their employees. Take a look at the videos posted on ORLA’s website at OregonRLA.org/workforce.
 
Todd Montgomery M.B.A, the research project’s lead, explained that they discovered a key commonality among each employer, “Leaders implementing best practices realize the current labor market and trends are unsustainable. Adapt or die, literally.” While best practices highlighted in this study range from first year engagement tactics to experiential training, and data-driven employee culture that leverages technology to mentorship programs, there were several common threads recognized among the companies interviewed. Commonalities include;
  1. There was a recognized need to change human resource and management practices in order to increase retention.
  2. The organizations regarded employees as partners.
  3. Leaders realized that an employee who felt that they were treated well gave consistently better service to the organization’s customers.
  4. An effort was made to integrate perspective from outside the hospitality industry and was deemed valuable and essential in challenging and changing the organization’s status quo.  
  5. Managers expressed authentic concern and the desire to care for people, both their employees and their customers.
  6. In addition to profit goals, the organization was motivated to serve a higher purpose in its business and to operate their companies “the right way.” 
The Application. While all of this sounds intriguing, we recognize that the “Bottom Line” is how much money these types of practices can save. While interviewees in our study weren’t asked to share their own financial results for proprietary reasons, here’s a sample of what Cornell found in the study referenced above when turnover costs were calculated using Separation, Recruiting, Selection, Hiring, and Lost Productivity factors for the following positions:
Position
Hotel Front-Office Associate
Line Cook
Administrative Assistant
Gift Shop Clerk
Property 1
$5,688.03
$2,076.91
Property 2
$5,965.06

$7,568.01
​$3,386.25
These numbers represent the average cost of turnover by position for two different hotels. The costs associated with turnover were higher than previous estimates, taking into consideration training and lost productivity due to a learning curve.

We hope that you find our new work helpful as you consider your own operations and workforce challenges you may be facing. We welcome your comments as well as suggestions for other best practice research your organization would find valuable. Feel free to reach out via email at WPopkin@OregonRLA.org | Wendy Popkin 

Wendy Popkin is the Executive Director for ORLA’s Education Foundation (ORLAEF), a nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting the educational and training needs of the hospitality industry. Wendy is a 32-year career veteran who describes herself as “fanatically enthusiastic about helping others enjoy the same type of fabulous career opportunities I have enjoyed in the hospitality industry.” 
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Willamette and South Salem Take Top Honors in 2019 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational

3/19/2019

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Willamette H.S.
Willamette H.S. Culinary
Willamette H.S.
Willamette H.S. Culinary
South Salem H.S. Management Team
South Salem H.S. Management Team
South Salem H.S. Management Team
South Salem H.S. Management Team
Nine Schools Competed in Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Education Foundation’s Statewide Competition Showcasing the Hospitality Industry’s Future Chefs

The challenge for the student chefs was to prepare a three-course gourmet meal with only two butane burners in under an hour. Willamette High School pulled this off with excellence, taking first in the culinary competition at the ORLAEF ProStart Invitational, sponsored by Sysco Portland. South Salem High School placed first in the management competition, developing a concept for a new restaurant and presenting it to judges from the industry and post-secondary education.
 
Willamette High School’s winning menu included ricotta mascarpone quail egg ravioli, pan seared wild Sockeye salmon with a fish velouté sauce and rosemary Parmigiano-Reggiano polenta, and mascarpone vanilla bean panna cotta.

Both first place teams will head to the 2019 National ProStart Invitational® May 8-10, 2019, in Washington, D.C. on sponsorship from ORLAEF. These Oregon champions also receive a share of over $547,500 in scholarships from local and national culinary schools to help further their careers in the restaurant and foodservice industry. 

“It is with great pleasure Sysco Portland is once again the leading sponsor of the ORLAEF ProStart program,” said Bobbie McDonald, Vice President of Merchandising & Marketing at Sysco Portland. “These young culinarians from our state are building skills that are foundational to their careers in the hospitality industry. This year we are extremely excited to announce the additional support of honoring two students with a scholarship to help guide them on their culinary journey.”
  
Final results for the culinary competition:
  • First Place: Willamette High School
  • Second Place: McNary High School
  • Third Place: North Salem High School
  • Fourth Place: Seaside High School
  • Fifth Place: McMinnville High School
 
Final results for the management competition:
  • First Place: South Salem High School
  • Second Place: Century High School
  • Third Place: Willamette High School
 
Additional awards presented at the event:
  • Oregon ProStart Student of the Year – Shane Wilder, Willamette High School
  • Oregon ProStart Mentor of the Year – Irina Bakun, McNary High School
  • Oregon ProStart Teacher of the Year – Chef Laura Hofer, South Salem High School

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2019 ProStart Invitational Judges & Volunteers

3/14/2019

 
A huge thank you to all the judges for this year's Oregon ProStart Invitational! They participate because they believe in these students, and want to celebrate their successes. 

2019 VOLUNTEERS

Eric Aebi, Ethos Hospitality
Dori Brattain, Bread & Salt Catering
Rachel Leo, The Leo Company
Angela Miles, Travel Salem
Pat Morrill, SAIF
Paul Paz, Waiters World
Tamara Roberts, Martin North
Pat Snyder, Industry Representative
Holly Stirnkorb, Metro
Anne Walton, Zena Learning Center
Students from Cascade Culinary Institute

2019 JUDGES
​

Hans Afshar, CEC, Bentleys Grill
Chris Allen, CEC, Food Services of America
Matthew Anderson, Ecolab
Matt Bennett, Sybaris Bistro
Ryan Bleibtrey, Sysco Portland
Barry Bowers , Pro Chefs Oregon
Kara Campuzano, Salem Convention Center
Michael Chamberlain-Torres, Hospitality by Torres, LLC
Soraida Cross, Bentleys Grill
Glenn Dettwiler, CEC, Le Mieux Foods
Andrew Farr, University Club of Portland
James Nowlan Fowler, Devil's Food Catering
Natalie Frajola, Pro Chefs Oregon
Treva Gambs, Gamberetti's
Seth Gruschow, Togather Restaurant Consultants
Sergio Gutierrez , Ecolab
Ken Henson, Pelican Brewing Company/Meridian Restaurant + Bar/Stimulus Bakery
Erik Jarvey, Ecolab
David Jenks, Sysco Portland
Kevin Jordan, Restaurant Professional
Josh Kolb, Ecolab
Sam La Duca, CHE, COCC - Cascade Culinary Institute
Douglas Lang, Oregon Health and Sciences University
Karen Malody, Culinary Options Consultancy
Tim McDonald, Food Services of America
Steve Moore, Philadelphia's Steaks & Hoagies
Ken Narcavage, Oregon Culinary Institute
Dennis Prime, Sysco Portland
Rex Robertson, Little Lois Cafe
Janel Rupp, CFSP, Performance Reps NW
Cory Schreiber, CEC, Sysco Portland
Thomas Semke, Newport Meat Pacific NW
Jay Skowron, Hospitality Defender, LLC
Samuel T. Spencer, CEC, American Culinary Federation
Mark Swenson, Shepherd's Grain
Jordan Snyder, Gecko Hospitality
David Trask, COCC- Cascade Culinary Institute
Randy Torres, CEC, Oregon Coast Culinary Institute
Brian von Eggers, CEC, American Culinary Federation
​Chad Warneke, Sysco Portland
Laura Williams, CEC, Oregon Coast Culinary Institute
Justin Wilson, Newport Meat Pacific NW
Eric Wynkoop, Rouxbe
Anjali Wynkoop , Oregon Culinary Institute

​Oregon ProStart Culinary Championships Past Winners

3/1/2019

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High school culinary teams of four prepare a three-course gourmet meal in 60 minutes in front of a crowd using only two butane burners and without access to running water or electricity. Management teams develop a concept for a new restaurant and present it to judges from industry and post-secondary education. ​This ProStart competition is the capstone of the two-year program, providing a public opportunity for students to showcase what they have learned. ProStart is a national career and technical education curriculum and program developed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF).
 
Past State Champions:
2019: Willamette High School (culinary); South Salem High School (management)
2018: Willamette High School (culinary); Bend High School (management)
2017: McMinnville High School
2016: South Salem High School
2015: South Salem High School
2014: Seaside High School
2013: Seaside High School
2012: South Salem 
2011: Bend High School
2010: Bend High School
2009: South Salem High School
2008: South Salem High School
2007: Willamette High School
2006: Bend High School
2005: Yoncalla High School
2004: Willamette High School
2003: Taft High School
2002: Taft High School
2001: David Douglas High School
Highlights from the 2018 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational:
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Ten High School Culinary Teams to Compete in 2019 Invitational

2/5/2019

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High school teams from around the state will compete in statewide culinary and management competitions at Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation’s 2019 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational, sponsored by Sysco. Culinary students prepare a three-course gourmet meal in 60 minutes in front of a crowd using only two butane burners, without access to running water or electricity. Management teams will develop a restaurant concept and present to a panel of judges at a simulated business exposition in the management competition. 

2019 INVITATIONAL TEAMS:

Century High School, Hillsboro
Teacher: Kristi Moe
Mentor: Keith Folkestad, Old Spaghetti Factory
Culinary Team: Lauryn Richardson, Markus Cadiz, Maliya Saephanh, Marvin Madarang, Bethany Gold
Management Team: Marc Velicaria, Damon Latimer-Marquez, Anthonette Molo

Crook County High School, Prineville
Teacher: Macy Hagensee
Mentor: Doug McFarland, Brasada Ranch
Culinary Team: Tabitha Post, Samantha Bond, Mackenzie Sutherlin, Carlos Vaca, Hayden Benson

McMinnville High School, McMinnville
Teacher: Krista Carpino
Culinary Team: Bryan Lara-Barragan, Harper Eacret, Finn Reuter, Melea Wilder, Ryan Bebout
Management Team: McKenna Carlson, Ricardo Morales, Ailie Johnson

McNary High School, Keizer
Teacher: Wendy Bennett
Mentors: Irina Bakun, former ProStart student and Austin Stinson, Sybaris
Culinary Team: Madelyn Hurst, Rebecca Hall, Isaac Mallery 

Newberg High School, Newberg
Teacher: Jane Eilert
Mentor: Val Daniel, Newberg School District Nutritional Services
Culinary Team: Rohan Hansen, Aiden Hansen, Sean Vriese, Jadon Lutz, Calista Mault
Management Team: Payton Madarieta, Donovan Lewis

North Salem High School, Salem
Teacher: Maryann Davis
Mentor: Alejandro Hernandez
Culinary Team: Ester Angulo, Melissa Salgado, Ashley Smith, Carmen Guerro, Josh Black

Seaside High School, Seaside
Teacher: Chelsea Archibald
Mentor: John Newman, Newmans 988 and Geoff Gunn, Pacific Way Café
Culinary Team: Gavin Meyer, Mason Shamion, Cyrus Knox, Luis Moreno, Shelby Rhodes

South Salem High School, Salem
Teacher: Laura Hofer
Culinary Team: Kristen Derting, Helen Taylor, Max Rock, Anthony Salisbury
Management Team: Samantha Martin, Connor Richman, Malachai Carter

Willamette High School, Eugene
Teacher: Martha Humphreys
Mentor: Cole Barnhardt, former ProStart student
Culinary Team: Shane Wilder, Logan Weller, Samantha Thompson, Makayla Schweitzer
Management Team: Jessica Barnhardt, Miriam Gutierrez, Taylor Woolett, Makenzie Crawford, Kacie Padilla

For more information, visit the ProStart Invitational page. If you'd like to volunteer at the event and be a judge, complete the application form or contact Wendy Popkin for more information.

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ProStart Teacher's Education Session Fall 2018 Resources

11/30/2018

 
In November 2018 Metro's Sustainability and Food Waste team gave a presentation to ProStart teachers on food systems, food waste and climate change. Click the links to access the Metro Sustainability curriculum, presentation and additional resources.
​
  • Making the connection – powerpoint slides from Metro presentation
  • ProStart resource posters on Water, Land, Fuel
  • Food Waste Sustainability Lesson Plan
  • Worksheet–Plan, Shop, Chop!
  • Worksheet–Plan, Shop, Chop-Plan Your Own Menu
  • Food Waste Hierarchy
  • Banana Growing
  • Banana Packing
  • Banana Ripening
  • Banana Transporting
  • Banana Treating

Questions? Contact Wendy Popkin, Executive Director, ORLA Education Foundation, at 971.224.1505.

Judging Interest Form: ProStart Invitational

10/19/2018

 
Thank you for your interest in becoming a judge for ORLAEF’s ProStart Invitational, sponsored by Sysco, on Monday, March 18, 2019 at the Salem Convention Center. We appreciate your support.

The event work is demanding but inspiring. Many judges and volunteers return every year because it is so exciting to be part of the day’s energy, and to witness the results of our students four months of hard work. Truly amazing!

Time Commitment
  • Actively participate in a one-hour teleconference training call
  • Thoroughly review rules and category rubrics, including: 
    • Sample scoresheet for the culinary competition 
    • Sample scoresheet for the management competition 
  • Participate at the competition on Monday, March 18, from approximately 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and commit to providing positive, constructive feedback to our students in-line with the competition rules.

Please complete the form below and type in N/A where answers do not apply. Thank you, we appreciate your support!

Wendy Popkin, Executive Director, ORLA Education Foundation.
​WPopkin@OregonRLA.org, 971-224-1505
Picture
Picture
    Type N/A if not applicable
    Type N/A if not applicable
    Type N/A if not applicable
    Type N/A if not applicable
    There are two categories of competition, Culinary and Management.
    Culinary Judging Categories:
    • Product Check-in: includes temperature checks, packing, storage, labeling, accuracy
    • Team Presentation: includes work skills, teamwork and communication, proper cooking methods and knife usage, degree of difficulty
    • Safety and Sanitation: throughout entire preparation, cooking and clean-up process
    • Product Taste Starter: includes appearance, balance, portion, degree of difficulty, taste
    • Product Taste Entrée: includes appearance, balance, portion, degree of difficulty, taste
    • Product Taste Dessert: includes appearance, balance, portion, degree of difficulty, taste
    • Menu Presentation: includes format, recipe structure, presentation, costing, pricing, source acknowledgement

    Please note: Menu and Recipe Presentation is the one category that is  judged prior to the competition. The process takes approximately 12 hours of time and needs to be completed between 3/4-3/15/19. Menu judges do not need to commit to attending the competition, though they are welcome to visit or judge another category on-site.

    Management Judging Categories:
    • Concept: includes description, SWOT, presentation skills​
    • Menu and Costing: includes description, photos, concept, poster
    • Marketing: includes concept match, ROI, budgets, creativity, presentation skills
    • Critical Thinking: includes teamwork, presentation, ability to problem solve, depth of knowledge when presented spontaneous questions
    • Operations: includes layout and floor plan, décor, organization chart, presentation
Submit

Empowering Guest Service

10/8/2018

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GSG Picture
Valuable Training for Recruitment and Retention

“When we play a game, we always ask the questions ‘What are the rules?’ and ‘How can I win…?’ When employees are asking these questions and the questions are not answered for them up front, they can become frustrated and upset because they do not know how to win at their job.” - Joe Lipham, Training Account Manager, Signature Worldwide

The power of training has been proven to help attract and keep good employees in this very competitive employment market. Clearly, despite varying levels of passion for the job, nobody goes to work hoping to look stupid and fail. 

Skill needs vary by job within each organization and necessitate specialized instruction. However, what is the one common skill that all hospitality employees need to feel comfortable in their role? Universally, experts agree that a company that focuses on teaching and empowering its associates to provide excellent guest service not only is more successful at gaining and keeping loyal customers but also more successful at attracting and retaining its employees. Standards are set high and employees are trained and empowered to deliver. Happy associates, who treat each other well, tend to create happy guests and help create a positive and rewarding work environment. 

​"A culture of high standards is protective of all the 'invisible' but crucial work that goes on in every company," writes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, it’s the “work that gets done when no one is watching. In a high standards culture, doing that work well is its own reward..." 


Bezos also notes that to build and maintain a culture of high standards, there are four critical elements; “they are teachable, they are domain-specific, you must recognize them, and you must explicitly coach realistic scope."

​
CREATING AND EVALUATING A TOOL
I have been proud to be a partner in Oregon’s statewide initiative to build a guest service curriculum that incorporated those four elements, via the support of Travel Oregon and the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI). 

Our goal in creating Guest Service Gold Tourism: Oregon Edition, which awards the internationally-accredited credential Certified Guest Service Professional (CGSP) upon successful completion, was to provide a tool that offered a common language and teachable principles specific to challenges employees in Oregon’s hospitality industry face.

The effort has been a bit of a case study for us all, as I now realize students’, managers’, and trainers’ feedback all support the theory of the value of training and its secondary benefits overall. Here’s what we’ve learned:

From Students:
  • “I always have loads of fun whenever I get a chance to learn something new…”
  • “Good training. A useful vehicle for reminding myself of my weak areas and reinforcing my strengths.”
  • “In addition to learning many tools for providing service, I loved being able to interact with employees in other departments as well as our managers during the training.”
  • “(I appreciated the Service Recovery Principle) because I have a tendency to panic when people are upset and now I have a better toolkit for dealing with that.”

From Managers and Owners:
  • “….For me as a GM, I was very pleased to find a program that all staff could participate in regardless of the department or what position they worked….I believe it helped boost morale. The training was well received…the feedback I got was the employees really felt like they learned something,” Martin Alletson, GM, Driftwood Shores
  • “….As an owner and a chef, I can tell you that usually we say we are too busy to train or it is too expensive, but this training will pay for itself. The feedback from the team was off the charts and everyone found it to be time well spent,” Brian Williams, Owner/Chef, Big Waves Café

From Our Trainers:
  • “While working with the National Forest Service, some of the greatest breakthroughs came from people realizing they weren’t alone and that the same challenges happen to their colleagues in other departments,” Thomas Moser

TAPPING ADDITIONAL TOOLS
Preparing employees about what to expect in their roles is a skill and confidence builder. Many accommodation and foodservice businesses use online courses, such as the internationally-accredited courses offered by AHLEI. Line-level position curriculum includes Certified Front Desk Representative, Certified Restaurant Server, Certified Kitchen Cook, Certified Guestroom Attendant, and Certified Maintenance Employee. Supervisory courses are also available; learn more about their tools at AHLEI.org/certifications.

“According to Canadian tourism and hospitality HR association Go2HR, around 40 percent of employees who do not receive adequate training end up leaving their post within a year.” - Entrepreneur Magazine/ Stephen Maclaren, Head of Regional Sales Employee Benefits, Al Futtaim Willis

While there is certainly intense competition for employees, perhaps considering increasing training opportunities can help you better recruit and retain staff. If you think our guest service training tool can assist in your efforts, please visit OregonGuestService.com and feel free to contact me with any questions. | Wendy Popkin

Wendy Popkin is the Executive Director for ORLA’s Education Foundation (ORLAEF), a nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting the educational and training needs of the hospitality industry. Wendy is a 32-year career veteran who describes herself as “fanatically enthusiastic about helping others enjoy the same type of fabulous career opportunities I have enjoyed in the hospitality industry.” 

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Workforce 2.0

7/24/2018

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Best Practices and Tools for Recruiting and Retaining Employees

Here’s the good news: year over year, 2016 to 2017, the hospitality industry ranked second for job growth in Oregon at a rate of 3.9 percent. The challenge: how do we fill the 210,000 jobs we have?

With Oregon unemployment at a historic low of 4.1 percent, everyone is lamenting about the difficulty in finding employees. March’s 2018 Oregon Economic and Revenue Forecast notes that “…the tight labor market is resulting in faster wage gains here in Oregon than in the typical state.” Business owners expressed concern about recent legislation to increase minimum wage, but many have told me they are now offering above minimum wage in competitive attempts to attract workers. 

Retention Trouble
Nationwide, an almost unbelievable and very disheartening and expensive fact - 72.5 percent of people left their foodservice or hospitality positions in 2017. While we struggle with the high cost of hiring associates, the conversation is also turning to the high cost of losing employees. Training time, costly product and customer service mistakes, and overtime paid to cover unfilled positions are direct hits to the bottom line.

I was fascinated to find a Turnover Cost Calculator with a shocking example. For a business that had 150 employees, and a turnover rate of ‘only’ 11 percent, a reduction in turnover of 20 percent would save an estimated $313,000 annually in training and opportunity costs. Check it out and use this template to estimate your own potential savings: bit.ly/TurnoverCostCalculate.

Emerging Best Practices Addressing the Employment Challenge
While some managers interpret that the current generation lacks a focus on and commitment to employment and loyalty, others are finding creative and successful ways to help fill positions and reduce turnover by addressing the priorities of today’s employee. 

I think Jack Altman, CEO of Lattice, summed it up well when he wrote “Younger workers… prioritize things like personal growth and career opportunity over income and job security. Giving your employees authentic opportunities for growth is something you have to build into the fabric of your company.” You can read more at bit.ly/2sHIfee.

Interpretation. We, as an industry, can find ROI in nurturing employees’ values to attract and retain them by offering pathways and assistance to help them meet their goals.  One way to do this is via education and training. 
“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat people well enough so they don’t want to.” - Richard Branson

There is growing proof that this approach is working, and that the investment pays off. CNBC does a nice round-up at http://cnb.cx/2JFBt2i where they note;
  • “College tuition assistance programs are one of the most successful tactics for getting employees to stick around. Starbucks has found that education benefits kept baristas behind the counter longer… employees enrolled in its college program were 1.5 times more likely to stay with the brand and are being promoted at 2.5 times the rate of those that are not enrolled.”
  • McDonalds is slashing eligibility requirements and more than tripling its benefit. "We know that people stay with us longer when they participate in these programs," says Rob Lauber, chief learning officer at McDonald’s... "And people that stay longer deliver a better customer experience for us."
Though these large-scale programs may seem out of reach to smaller operators, the concept can be replicated by following the type of advice advocated by Jack Altman. 
  • When promoting your positions, illustrate a pathway for growth within your organization as well as the industry. Chipotle does a great job with this concept, see an example at Careers.chipotle.com/career-path. For foodservice operators, the National Restaurant Educational Foundation offers a great interactive tool at Careerpath.chooserestaurants.org. The American Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Foundation also features a helpful resource at bit.ly/WorldofOpportunity. 
  • You can help potential applicants understand what they will learn and how the experience can be applicable to other job and life goals even if they don’t express a desire to stay in the industry. Needs ideas? I had fun searching for ‘Skills I Learned from my Restaurant / Hospitality Job” where I found pages ranging from a sarcastic but authentic testimonial at bit.ly/2l2Splj to thoughtful reflection at  bit.ly/15FoodServiceSkillsForLife to a more academic approach at  bit.ly/HospitalityLifeSkills. Also consider sharing testimonials from past employees about the value of their experience with you.
  • Build a relationship with your local community college or university and consider offering tuition assistance. You can find your area’s state schools offering at bit.ly/OregonCollegeTrainingPrograms. They are also experts at helping your employees find and follow a career path with resources such as MyPathcareers.org. By building these relationships you can also help your employees discover resources that include GED assistance to basic skills tutoring, as well as potential financial assistance. This type of support is a proven valuable recruitment and retention tool!
  • Offer and potentially fund skills-based training to help employees join and advance within your organization. Affordable and internationally accredited online courses for line employees such as restaurant server, front desk representative, kitchen cook, housekeeping attendant, and security office are offered via the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation at ahlei.org/Certifications/Line-Employees. Remember the Oregon-customized guest service class is available at OregonGuestService.com.

More Tools on the Horizon!
ORLA’s Education Foundation partnered with the Oregon Coast Visitors Association and the owners of the Overleaf Lodge & Spa, Kristin and Drew Roslund, this year to secure grants from Travel Oregon and the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund. Funds awarded were used to pilot a workforce development program in Waldport. The target was recruitment and retention via a program that offered free skills-based certifications. 

From this effort we developed an encouraging relationship with enthusiastic partners at WorkSource Oregon in Lincoln County. WorkSource Oregon is a network of public and private partners who work together to “effectively respond to workforce challenges through high-quality services to individuals and business, resulting in job attainment, retention, and advancement.” They are the agencies most in touch with untapped populations who could help fill those 210,000 jobs and provide critical support for both the employee and employer in that effort.

Our next step is to expand our partnerships and phase-in a more comprehensive program. We believe the model has potential to replicate throughout the state, and our hope would be to leverage available state and federal training funds and Oregon Employment Department staff expertise to help serve industry’s workforce needs. An unexpected benefit was learning about the resources WorkSource offers to our employees, previously unknown to most of us! These include funding and staff support for employees such as uniform purchase, housing and transportation vouchers, and skills and mental health counseling.

We are encouraged by the potential to offer hospitality business partners more active assistance with our industry’s workforce challenge and our organizations will be providing regular updates and resources. | Wendy Popkin, ORLAEF

Wendy Popkin is the Executive Director for ORLA’s Education Foundation (ORLAEF), a nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting the educational and training needs of the hospitality industry. Wendy is a 32-year career veteran who describes herself as “fanatically enthusiastic about helping others enjoy the same type of fabulous career opportunities I have enjoyed in the hospitality industry.” 
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2018 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational Winners

5/1/2018

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Congratulations to Bend High School and Willamette High School for taking first place in the management and culinary competitions, respectively, at the 2018 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational! See photos from the event.

Top placing teams in each category, culinary and management, received a share of the $675,000 in scholarships awarded. First place teams earned a spot at National ProStart Invitational where Willamette H.S. culinary team placed 6th out of 48 and Bend H.S. management team scored 26th out of 46!  

Results for the 2018 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational in Salem, Oregon:

Management Competition
  • 1st place - Bend H.S.
  • 2nd place - South Salem H.S.
  • 3rd place - McMinnville H.S.

Culinary Competition 
  • 1st place - Willamette H.S.
  • 2nd place - Bend H.S.
  • 3rd place - McMinnville H.S.

Additional Awards
  • Foster Farms Student of the Year - Cole Barnhardt, Willamette High School
  • Teacher of the Year - Sheri Carson, Roseburg High School
  • Mentor of the Year - Doug MacFarland, Brasada Ranch, Crook County High School

The event is produced by ORLA’s Education Foundation and made possible by the generous contributions of the sponsors:
  • Title Sponsor: Sysco
  • Major Sponsor: OCI
  • Champion Sponsors: Bentley’s Grill, The Old Spaghetti Factory
  • Student Star Sponsor: Foster Farms
  • School Sponsor: Togather Restaurant Consultants
  • Product Sponsors: ECOLAB, Farmer Brothers
  • In-Kind Sponsors: Johnson Controls, The Grand Hotel, Hampton Inn by Hilton, Phoenix Inn, Salem Convention Center.

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Oregon ProStart News

4/3/2018

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  • Video - 2018 Oregon ProStart: Willamette High School
    Foster Farms, 4/5/18​
  • Video - 2018 Oregon ProStart: Bend High School
  • Foster Farms, 4/4/18
  • ​Video - 2018 Oregon ProStart: McMinnville High School
  • Foster Farms, 4/3/18
  • Oregon ProStart shows off the state’s best young culinary talent
    Foster Farms, 4/3/18​
  • Roseburg High School culinary teacher awarded by industry association
    The News-Review, 3/31/18
  • Willamette High School culinary team wins state championship, headed to nationals in April
    The Register-Guard, 3/19/18
  • Bend H.S. culinary management team tops in the state
    KTVZ 21, 3/19/18
  • Roseburg students participate in culinary competition
    The News-Review, 3/17/18 
  • Pendleton’s education foundation announce grant awards
    East Oregonian, 3/16/18
  • South Salem grad Ryan Toepfer heads to world-class San Francisco restaurant Quince
    Statesman Journal, 2/22/18
  • ​​Bend H.S. student awarded Oregon Culinary Student of the Year 
    Foster Farms, 2/21/17
  • Willamette H.S. culinary team takes fifth at state contest
    The Register-Guard, 2/21/17
  • Mac High wins state cooking competition  
    News Register, 2/20/17
  • McMinnville wins Oregon state culinary title
    Statesman Journal, 2/19/17
  • NHS culinary team preps for state 
    The Newberg Graphic, 2/15/17
  • Salem high schools' menus set for culinary competition
    Statesman Journal, 2/14/17
  • Willamette H.S. culinary team feels the heat as statewide cook-off contest nears 
    The Register-Guard, 2/11/17
  • How a slippery fish leads to culinary excellence 
    Foster Farms, 2/10/17​
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Willamette and Bend High Schools Win 2018 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational

3/18/2018

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11 Schools Competed in Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Education Foundation’s Statewide Competition Showcasing the Hospitality Industry’s Future Chefs and Innovators
 
The challenge for the student chefs in the culinary competition was to prepare a three-course gourmet meal with only two butane burners in under an hour. Willamette High School pulled this off with excellence, winning top honors in the culinary competition at the ORLAEF ProStart Invitational, sponsored by Sysco. Bend High School took champion title in the management competition where students developed and presented a new restaurant concept to judges from industry and post-secondary education. The event was hosted by the Education Foundation of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLAEF) on March 18, 2018 in Salem, Oregon.
 
ProStart, one of the nation’s largest industry-supported career and technical education (CTE) programs, teaches high school students culinary and management skills needed by restaurant, hospitality, and foodservice employers. Focused on culinary techniques and restaurant management skills, this competency-based curriculum also includes real-life restaurant experiences. The ORLAEF ProStart Invitational is the capstone of this two-year program, providing a public opportunity for students to showcase what they have learned. Top competitors in the event receive a share of over $675,000 in scholarships and prizes from local and national culinary schools to help further their careers in the restaurant and foodservice industry. 

“Sysco Portland is proud to partner with ORLAEF in support of ProStart,” said Bobbie McDonald, Vice President of Merchandising & Marketing at Sysco Portland. "These young culinarians from our state are building skills that are foundational to their careers in the hospitality industry. We applaud their enthusiasm and can’t wait to serve them in the future.”
 
Final results for the culinary competition:
  • First Place – Willamette High School
  • Second Place – Bend High School
  • Third Place – McMinnville High School​

Final results for the management competition:
  • First Place – Bend High School
  • Second Place – South Salem High School
  • Third Place – McMinnville High School

Additional awards presented at the event:
  • Foster Farms Student of the Year – Cole Barnhardt, Willamette High School
  • Teacher of the Year – Sheri Carson, Roseburg High School
  • Mentor of the Year – Doug MacFarland, Brasada Ranch, Crook County High School
 
“The atmosphere at this event was electric,” said Wendy Popkin, executive director of ORLAEF. “The ProStart program does a remarkable job preparing high school students with fundamental skills such as communication, teamwork, time management and professionalism needed to enter the workforce.” 
 
The teams from Bend High School and Willamette High School will head to the 2018 National ProStart Invitational® April 27-29, 2017, in Providence, RI.  Contact Popkin for information about how you can support local Oregon students on their journey to the national competition.
 
Currently 38 Oregon schools, with more than 3,000 students participate in the ProStart training program. Internationally, ProStart includes 137,300 students in 1,768 schools and technical centers across the United States, Guam, Europe, and Asia.
 
About ORLAEF
 
As the philanthropic foundation of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, ORLAEF supports and promotes diverse career, educational, and public service opportunities within the hospitality industry to create a vibrant industry that contributes to Oregon’s economic livelihood and its citizens’ quality of life. Oregon’s restaurant and foodservice industry is comprised of over 9,900 foodservice locations and has a total economic impact of $10.8 billion - making it the cornerstone of the economy and one of the state’s largest employers.

2018 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational – Participating Schools
 
Culinary Competition
  • Bend High School
  • Crook County High School
  • Grants Pass High School
  • McMinnville High School
  • McNary High School
  • Mountain View High School
  • North Salem High School
  • Roseburg High School
  • Willamette High School
 
Management Competition
  • Bend High School
  • McMinnville High School
  • Pendleton High School
  • South Salem High School
  • Willamette High School

View photos from event on Flickr.
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High School Culinary Teams From Around the State Compete in TV-Style ProStart®  Competition

3/8/2018

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WHAT
High school teams compete in statewide culinary and management competitions at Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation’s 2018 ORLAEF ProStart Invitational, sponsored by Sysco. Students prepare a three-course gourmet meal in 60 minutes in front of a crowd using only two butane burners, without access to running water or electricity. New this year, five teams will develop a restaurant concept and present to a panel of judges at a simulated business exposition in the management competition. 
 
WHEN
Sunday, March 18, 2018 - 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Schedule posted online.
 
WHERE 
Salem Convention Center, 200 Commercial Street SE, Salem
 
WHY
Helping high school students jump start culinary careers, the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Education Foundation (ORLAEF) supports educators and schools offering ProStart, a national career and technical education (CTE) curriculum and program developed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF). Teaching culinary, teamwork and management skills needed by restaurant, hospitality and foodservice employers, the ORLAEF ProStart Invitational is the capstone of this two-year program, providing a public opportunity for students to showcase what they have learned.
 
Of the 38 Oregon high school programs, currently involving 3,000 ProStart students, 11 schools are sending teams to this year's invitational. Heats begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at 2:15 p.m. Chef judges evaluate culinary teams on taste, presentation, knife skills, and teamwork. Management competition teams are evaluated on their concept, marketing strategies, menu, recipes and food costs, operations and critical thinking skills, with winners of both competitions announced at the dinner. Students also vie for a share of $675,000 in scholarships and prizes. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend this free event.
 
Sponsoring organizations – ORLAEF, Sysco, Oregon Culinary Institute, Bentley’s Grill and The Grand Hotel, The Old Spaghetti Factory, Foster Farms, Johnson Controls, Phoenix Inn Suites,Salem, Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton, and NRAEF - help send the first place team to the 2018 National ProStart Invitational, April 27-29 in Providence, Rhode Island.
 
Participating in the ProStart career technical education classes prepares students for community college certifications and degrees. 
 
INFO
For more information about the ProStart Oregon culinary championship, visit http://bit.ly/ORprostart.
 
ABOUT
As the philanthropic foundation of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, ORLAEF supports and promotes diverse career, educational and public service opportunities within the hospitality industry to create a vibrant industry that contributes to Oregon’s economic livelihood and its citizens’ quality of life. Oregon’s foodservice and lodging industry is responsible for 173,700 jobs bringing in over $10.8 billion in annual sales and generating 54% of the annual tourism dollars spent in Oregon – making the hospitality industry the cornerstone of the economy and one of the state’s largest employers.
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