The graduation event will take place June 30 at KidzTable, a program which provides 6,000 meals daily to children throughout the greater Baltimore region.
On June 30 at 12:30 p.m., five newly trained, aspiring culinary workers will graduate from St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore’s Next Course program, a food service employment training program for low income, unemployed or underemployed individuals. The graduation will take place at the nonprofit’s KidzTable program which provides fresh, nutritious meals to children and youth in the greater Baltimore area. KidzTable is located at 1901 62nd Street, Suite 3906, Baltimore, MD 21237.
A Next Course instructor provides a demonstration to students during culinary and kitchen skills training.
While unemployment has decreased in recent years, Baltimore City’s unemployment rate is still 6.6%, much higher than Maryland’s average rate of 4.4%. St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore developed Next Course in 2011 as a way to help those with significant barriers to employment find living wage employment.
Graduates of the Next Course program complete 15 weeks of food service instruction comprised of an intensive, tiered training curriculum combined with life and employability skills and one-on-one case management support. Students progress through each tier by attaining specific skills that are evaluated using a combination of written assessments, practical assessments and kitchen observations.
Students begin by learning the basic culinary essentials of equipment and food knowledge, while also strengthening customer service skills. As they progress, two training chefs work side by side with them as they learn product and equipment identification, safety and sanitation and knife skills. Students then move on to recipe reading, food service math and cooking techniques and end by executing an entire meal.
A unique aspect of the training is that it takes place in the commercial catering kitchen of KidzTable, St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore’s program providing 6,000 healthy meals a day to children and youth in Head Start programs, schools, day care centers, camps and afterschool programs in the Baltimore area. Next Course students are fully immersed in the daily production of KidzTable’s catered meals, providing a real-world food production environment to enhance the learning process.
Next Course students prepare fresh and nutritious meals for KidzTable, a program that provides meals to youth in the Greater Baltimore area.
“Next Course is tailored to the individual needs and strengths of the students,” said Tona Cravioto, senior director of workforce development services for St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore. “Students move forward only as they demonstrate mastery of core competencies. The model also allows for rolling admissions, enabling us to continuously add new students.”
Next Course also incorporates an integrated case management model in which a career support specialist works with each student to overcome barriers to employment, reinforce life and employability skills, and assist in job placement. Thanks to partnerships and relationships staff have cultivated with area businesses to provide internship and employment opportunities for the students, graduates of Next Course have been able to secure job opportunities and advance in the culinary field. Today, Next Course graduates can be found working at Genesis Healthcare, Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, Maryland Live Casino and Horseshoe Casino, among others.
“Career-oriented employment is the key to lifting individuals out of poverty and building a better future for them and their families,” said John Schiavone, President and CEO of St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore. “With the sustained high levels of unemployment often associated with poverty, employment resources and training remains a critical component of our work giving low income and homeless individuals the opportunity to acquire the skills and experience to be gainfully employed.”
James, a Next Course graduate, enthusiastically accepted Next Course’s invitation to earn a certificate in food service and has been able to build upon the core culinary skills he learned in the program to increase his financial stability since graduation. “Next Course changed my life,” James says. “It gave me the essential skills I needed to become highly employable in the food service industry and make a good, solid wage.”
For more information about Next Course classes and eligibility requirements, visit
www.vincentbaltimore.org/get-
About St. Vincent de Paul
St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore is a leading provider of community services to people suffering from the effects of hunger, homelessness and poverty in Baltimore, Maryland. We are proud to be a United Way Impact Partner and to be recognized by Maryland Nonprofits with the
Seal of Excellence for maintaining the highest standards of ethics and accountabilities in nonprofit governance, management, and operations. For more information, visit www.vincentbaltimore.org.
