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Hotel job shadowing program provides intros to managers

Emily Patrick
epatrick@citizen-times.com

Asheville's influx of hotels means jobs, and a new program helps locals connect with the managers who hire those positions.

Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina and Intercontinental Hotel Group have partnered to offer job training and shadowing. Candidates who participate in the program will hopefully land jobs at hotels, according to Stephanie Rerych, skills training and IHG recruiter at Goodwill.

“It seems like the jobs are abundant, and they’re needing a lot of people just because of the sheer number of hotels that are going to be opening in the next few years," she said. "Anyone can come in and fill out an application and do the job shadowing experience."

Trainees begin the process by filling out an application at Goodwill Career Center, 1616 Patton Ave. The application gets them a spot in a one-hour training seminar. Goodwill offers theses sessions once a month. The next one takes place Aug. 19.

After the seminar, trainees spend three hours shadowing a staffer at a hotel. They're not working, but the shadowing introduces them to the environment and the management.

"They are meeting the people who would be hiring them," Rerych said. “We have had folks who have done the job shadowing and the managers have asked them to fill out applications."

The program began in May.

Potential positions include kitchen staff, front desk and housekeeping, Rerych said.

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