Maryland Hospitality Training to Lead Public-Private Partnership
The Maryland Center for Hospitality Training (MCHT), a division of Global Training Centers, LLC has teamed with the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association (OCHMRA) to address the labor market crisis. They have launched a new initiative designed to connect Marylanders with available seasonal jobs in Ocean City, Maryland to help fill the thousands of open positions. Each summer, more than 12,000 seasonal positions are available in the hospitality industry. So, historically, many of these positions are filled by J1 Summer Work Travel Visa students. However, the summer of 2020 was quite different when only 100 slots were filled, leaving OCHMRA members working around the clock due to the staffing shortages. Now in 2021 the labor crisis is a serious issue that employers across all industries are facing but Tourism and Hospitality industries are struggling even more.
Mike Haynie, CEO of MCHT and Susan L. Jones, Executive Director of the OCHMRA, teamed to find solutions. Through several conversations the pilot program, “Connecting Marylanders with Maryland Jobs” was born whereby OCHMRA member employers will be connected with students who are recruited, vetted and trained by the MCHT. A caveat of the pilot is that OCHMRA members will provide housing as part of the employment package. Through organizational assistance provided by the Maryland Department of Commerce and funding from the Maryland Department of Labor, the two state agencies are proud to support the launch of OCHMRA and MCHT’s new pilot program. Recruitment has begun and is in the interview stage. The ultimate goal of Connecting Marylanders with Maryland Jobs is to build a hospitality program that can be utilized by tourism offices all around the State
MCHT is headquartered in the heart of Baltimore and is committed to giving MD residents quality training in customer service, business fundamentals, and leadership proficiency. After years of award-winning hospitality training, MCHT is best positioned to implement the public-private programming with partnerships in the community colleges in Howard, Montgomery, Prince Georges, Baltimore Counties and Baltimore City. MCHT IS currently recruiting potential employees in colleges, churches and with partner organizations such as CollegeBound, Sutton Scholars and The Joel Gamble Foundation
All participants will attend a 25-hour training class to include virtual meeting etiquette, Back-to-Work Covid-19 Safety Training, customer service training and a virtual tour of Ocean City.
“The Connecting Marylanders with Maryland Jobs pilot program is a statewide initiative to ensure one of our most treasured tourism products is able to meet the demands of an expected busy season. We are pleased to have the opportunity to be chosen to support the initiative. We hope this program begins to build the labor pool of young people which has been eroded by the pandemic. It will take out of the box thinking to fix the problem.” said Michael Haynie, CEO MCHT.
Appointed to serve on Governor Hogan’s and Department of Commerce Secretary Schultz’s Reopen Maryland Task force with other business leaders across the state and also appointed by Mayor Young to serve on the Baltimore City Restaurant recovery task force, Baltimore native and respected hospitality industry expert Michael Haynie, President of MCHT is a well-known and proven leader in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry serving on many boards including The Maryland Tourism Development Board and Visit Baltimore Board. He has devoted his entire career extended over 3 decades to assist with strategic planning and economic development growth. He founded MCHT in 2012 and it has become one of the leading master training providers in the State of Maryland. Training clients include the Baltimore City Department of Social Services, Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Stratford University, Baltimore City Public Schools and Visit Baltimore, just to name a few. Mr. Haynie’s unwavering passion and commitment to training in the Industry has garnered him a stellar reputation amongst his peers.
For additional information please contact Barb Clapp, Chief Marketing Officer, MCHT at 443-286-2495 or by email at barbclapp@gmail.com
