East End Hospitality & Tourism Academy Supports Economy: Bellone

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone headed out to the East End this week to celebrate a program he says will bolster the local workforce and prove a boon to the economy.

Bellone today joined educators, business and community leaders to promote the success of the East End Hospitality & Tourism Academy at Hampton Bays High School.

“Due to COVID-19, the leisure and hospitality sector suffered historic job losses,” Bellone said. “Rather than wait for these jobs to come back, Suffolk County worked with local community-based organizations and business leaders to create an industry-driven workforce training program to start bringing these jobs back now.”

According to the 2021 Suffolk County Local Workforce Plan, the leisure and hospitality sector lost more than 60,000 jobs between February and April 2020. From April 2020 to March 2021, the sector began to bounce back, regaining a little over 40,000 jobs, or 62.9 percent, of initial jobs lost, Bellone said.

To foster East End hospitality and leisure sector job market growth, the Suffolk County Department of Labor, Licensing, & Consumer Affairs worked with Hampton Bays High School and the Canoe Place Inn & Cottages to create a fully-funded hospitality and tourism academy at Hampton Bays High School.

The course lasted five weeks and 48 participants attended twice-weekly workshops at the high school in a commercial culinary lab. Curriculum was developed and delivered by a New York State certified teacher in family and consumer sciences, Bellone said.

The Suffolk County Department of Labor and Hampton Bays High School also provided Spanish language translation, childcare, and meals free-of-charge to all participants during every workshop, Bellone said.

Throughout all sessions participants received a hands-on learning experience complemented by lectures and instruction.

The program was designed in partnership with local restaurateurs and included topics such as "The Guest Experience Journey", "Food & Beverage — Front of the House", "Food & Beverage — Back of the House", "Lodging & Operations I & II", and a special, regionally tailored “Long Island as a Global Destination” workshop, Bellone said.

Lessons placed an emphasis on "industry specific soft-skills imperative to leisure, tourism, and hospitality services", such as: point-of-sale knowledge, active listening, patience, team work, vendor management, conflict resolution, cultural awareness, and overall presentation skills, Bellone said.

The academy wrapped up on April 14 with a guest lecture from Ron Naples, adjunct professor, NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism & Sports Management, and a hands-on mock interview and resume writing session supported by local restaurateurs and Suffolk County Department of Labor Career Counselors, Bellone said.

To ensure all participants graduated with an updated resume, counselors from the Suffolk County Department of Labor’s job seeker services division arrived with pre-written resumes prepared using the individual work history provided by each participant during their initial program registration, Bellone said.

That, information, along with onsite interviews and program-related technical skill updates, allowed all graduates to depart with a resume.

In addition, all participants were provided a certificate of completion by Suffolk County Department of Labor Commissioner Rosalie Drago and invited to attend a specialized Hospitality & Tourism Career Fair at Hampton Bays High School, to be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

At the event, a Suffolk County Department of Labor staff photographer will be on hand to provide free headshots to graduates, Bellone said.

Lars Clemensen, superintendent of schools at Hampton Bays Public Schools spoke about the program: “A core pillar of the Hampton Bays Public Schools’ vision is its commitment to lifelong learning and the Hospitality Academy at Hampton Bays gave us the opportunity to do just that. In partnering with Suffolk County, Rechler Equity and Canoe Place Inn & Cottages, the Academy provides a positive and productive training and education experience with a two-fold benefit — introducing businesses to enthusiastic and engaged job candidates and exposing our neighbors to exciting local job opportunities."

He added that the Hospitality Academy at Hampton Bays is the “adult-extension” of the district’s commitment to career development at the high school level, with courses in culinary arts and hospitality and tourism management.

Michael Brod, a managing director of the Canoe Place Inn & Cottages added: “We believe the development of The Hospitality Academy will have an immediate impact and aggregate benefit for the East End community, and particularly Hampton Bays."

This article originally appeared on the Westhampton-Hampton Bays Patch