Workforce challenges are nothing new to Milwaukee’s service and hospitality industry. Between staffing shortages that pre-date the COVID-19 pandemic, high turnover rates and increased wage inflation, employers are often faced with less-than-ideal business decisions based on available labor.
One local program aims to shoulder that burden by subsidizing wages for on-the-job training and providing support services to new and current hospitality workers in Milwaukee County – particularly those representing historically marginalized populations.
The initiative, known as Serve MKE, is led by Employ Milwaukee thanks to a recent $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. Key to its overall goal of bridging hiring gaps for employers, Serve MKE aims to remedy some of the root causes of the local hospitality sector’s workforce issues.
“For too long, essential jobs in the hospitality sector have been characterized by low wages, limited benefits, and minimal opportunities for advancement,” said Employ Milwaukee president and CEO Chytania Brown in a statement. “Through Serve MKE, we aim to address these disparities and ensure that all hospitality workers have access to gainful, quality employment.”
Serve MKE will officially launch in fall and is projected to impact 400 participants and employers over its three-year duration. Achieving that outcome requires the direct involvement of those who know the industry best.
“This whole concept really was derived from our employers,” said Jeffrey McAlister Jr., manager of business solutions at Employ Milwaukee. “They are the ones that really guide us to kind of know what’s going on in the industry.”
Employ Milwaukee meets monthly with its hospitality industry advisory board, which is made up of 13 employers ranging from large corporations like Marcus Hotels & Resorts, Delaware North and Levy Restaurants to local operations like The Bartolotta Restaurants and Turning Tables. The cohort also includes Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, Outpost Natural Foods, The Iron Horse Hotel, Baird Chicago & Midwest Regional Joint Board and the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1473.
Based on discussions and direct feedback from the group – which now functions as the Serve MKE work committee – Employ Milwaukee is creating a framework for the program that addresses employers’ most pressing needs.
“For example, we’re sifting out what the top training choices will be for the training programs, what are the top 10 positions that they want to focus on and what the trainings will look like,” said McAlister.
The Serve MKE program will seek to alleviate some administrative tasks that come along with hiring and retaining staff but are often seen as barriers by smaller-sized operators with limited resources. Employ Milwaukee plans to hire two additional staff members who will serve as career coaches or case managers for participants and help connect them with available support services such as childcare, transportation, rent subsidies and uniforms.
“We understand the burden of an employer, so we don’t want them getting caught up with too much paperwork and having to manage another level of managing their employees,” said McAlister.
While there is a six-month cap on wages covered by Serve MKE, the program’s support services will be ongoing – even if a participant switches jobs within the industry.
Meeting the workforce where it’s at is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to strengthening the hospitality talent pipeline. It’s a reality that has become all too clear in recent years at Milwaukee Area Technical College, where enrollment in its culinary arts program is increasingly dominated by part-time students.
“A lot of them work a full-time job or maybe two part-time jobs. Maybe they’re raising a family. You certainly welcome that – we really, really do – and we want to work with you,” said Paul Carrier, culinary arts lead faculty and department chairperson at MATC.
In his more than 25 years at MATC, Carrier has never seen as much interest in the culinary arts program as he is seeing now, he said. And in today’s post-pandemic world, that interest is largely being driven by students who don’t fit the traditional profile of an aspiring professional chef.
“It’s individuals (pursuing) second careers. That’s a big jump for us,” said Carrier. “Individuals that work in a career for 30, 40 years, then they decided they want to go to school just to learn how to cook or they want to start their own business out of their home, catering or a food truck.”
With the plethora of culinary and hospitality job opportunities out there these days, MATC has expanded its course offerings – now the only culinary program in Wisconsin offering digital badge certificates – and broadened its approach in preparing students for whatever the future holds.
“It’s not just, you know, graduate, get a job,” said Carrier. “It’s more like, seek another opportunity as a building block to a different type of career – maybe it’s a food writer or food styling – we don’t limit it just to one. That’s what it used to be, just one little area. It used to be country clubs and five-star restaurants, but those days are over. There’s all kinds of opportunities and that’s what we want to embrace as a program. We want this to be everyone’s program.”
