HospitalityMaine releases 5-year workforce plan to rebuild industry 'in crisis'
Photo / Renee Cordes
"Today, Maine's hospitality industry is in crisis and this is not based on a lack of customers or guests," says a report released by HospitalityMaine on Wednesday.
HospitalityMaine on Wednesday released a five-year roadmap for tackling the industry's workforce woes, including ways to attract more immigrants and people from disadvantaged communities to hotel and restaurant jobs.
The 14-page plan, dubbed "Dirigo Hospitality 2025," envisions an education and career pathway from primary through adult education, and a long list of job training and workforce development and diversity strategies, including the creation of an "English for Hospitality" initiative with Portland Adult Education or Southern Maine Community College.
"Today, Maine's hospitality industry is in crisis and this is not based on a lack of customers and guests," the report says, pointing to an unmet demand for skilled employees and significant pressure on profitability from the rising cost of food, new equipment and labor."
"These and other issues are causing restaurants to limit hours and close on certain days due to staffing, and in some cases the inability to source food and supplies," the report continues. "Hotels are similarly impacted, often closing off rooms they cannot maintain. Without addressing the challenges head on, this reality will likely exist long into the future."
The plan was drafted by Hospitality Maine's nonprofit arm, the HospitalityMaine Education Foundation, which plans to follow up in the next two weeks with metrics and goals. The effort comes after the Maine hospitality industry lost a third of its business in 2020 because of the pandemic and 13,000 employees between July 2019 and July 2020. Businesses continue to grapple with staff burnout and shortages during this year's surge in visitation to Maine.
"That is an unsustainable business model," Steve Hewins, the foundation's director, told Mainebiz by phone Thursday morning. "People in this industry are tired, and most of the industry are ready for a light at the end of a very long tunnel."
'Begin now'
Hewins said that while the report is a lot to take on over the next five years, time is of the essence.
"We have to impact the 2022 season, which means we have to begin now," Hewins said. That includes building on existing programs like the ProStart culinary curriculum for high school students in 14 career and technical education schools in Maine.
"We're looking to expand that curriculum and get it into as many of the high schools across the state as we can," as well as work with the Maine Community College System to turn that into advanced credits, he said.
Getting more immigrants into the workforce is a key goal, like through the creation of an "English for Hospitality" initiative with Portland Adult Education or Southern Maine Community College, as mentioned in the plan.
"You can learn English through work," Hewins said. "I would claim we could probably hire every new immigrant in Maine for our industry. They may be overqualified, but we could employ them if they could speak the language of hospitality ... It relates to the bigness of this plan. We have to make that happen."
Asked what happens next, Hewins said the foundation's board would aim to come up with metrics and goals in the next two weeks.
"Once we get some successes rolling and people start to see the potential of this industry and the effort to do this, I think it's going to build momentum," he added. "That's our hope."
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