Dive Brief:

• The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AHLEF) will pilot a program with ten hotel companies and 1,500 properties to provide pathways to higher education at no cost for employees. AHLEF is the foundation arm of the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
• The majority of hospitality careers do not require advanced degrees; many C-Suite executives and almost half of property general managers began their career in the industry at entry-level positions like dishwasher and front desk agent, among others. The goal of this program, however, is to provide "more diverse and personalized educational paths" that include skills development, including a GED, free Associate’s degree programming and low-cost Bachelor’s degree offerings.
• The foundation promises to provide employees with the means to find training and resources necessary to achieve their career goals.

Dive Insight:

The move is similar to other industry leaders and associations working to upskill future employees. A large home improvement retailer just announced a program to provide training, pre-paid tuition and other benefits to employees, in the hopes of driving them into pre-apprenticeship programs and skilled contractor positions while also keeping them on staff. Yet another trade school is working with the business community to attract and retain workers into programming and a steady candidate stream.

Companies across the country are working to address today’s skills gap and talent shortages, as well as those they anticipate in the near term. Identifying needs then proactively working to provide a talent pool is the newest way companies are hedging their bets for full employment in the future.

Teaching current employees who are already immersed in the culture of the organization or industry not only creates an applicant stream — it increases engagement and retention. The more an employer invests in its employees, the more likely they are to remain on staff.