Labor shortage solutions

Labor shortage solution—refugee services By Iain Woessner

The hospitality industry is suffering from a major labor shortage, and the workers that are available can lack skills, experience or even motivation. You may want to consider looking beyond job placement boards when looking for your next great employee.

Refugee resettlement organizations, like the International Rescue Committee (IRC), prepare refugees to survive and thrive in the workforce.

“The folks we work with are fully employment-authorized as soon as they step off the plane they are able to jump into work without any worries about the I-9 (Form),” Miriam Kasaika, economic empowerment coordinator for the organization, said. “Everyone we’re working with is really motivated to get going. The partnership really goes two ways.”

Refugees passing through the program are prepared for the workforce, with some training programs specifically targeting skills of value to hospitality, Kasaika said. A partnership with Chipotle some years ago led to teaching burrito-making skills. A partnership with a local hotel ultimately informed the organization of the need to provide deeper housekeeping training, going so far as to train prospective employees on specific placement of lotions preferred by this hotel.

“Most of our employer partners will send out a bulletin every week or month to say what positions are opening up,” Kasaika said. “We’ll use that as a guide and we’ll try and make those connections. So if we know there’s a high-end hotel … we’ll think about the folks we’re working with who have hospitality experience from back home.”

Some Washington Hospitality Association members have already developed good rapport with the organization and report success with the employees they’ve taken on.

“We have had great success with IRC over the past few years,” Brandon Martinez, director of operations for the Seattle Renaissance Hotel, said. “We find that in most cases the personnel we receive from IRC are really willing to work in any position in the hotel and are happy to have opportunities to start a career within this industry.”

Martinez lauded the organization’s offering of on-thejob-skills through its Hospitality Link program to provide employees the skills they’d need to get a great start in hospitality.

“We’ve employed personnel into housekeeping, stewarding, laundry, banquets, bellman, valet and food and beverage,” Martinez said. “We’ve seen most workers start at any entry-level position and then work their way to a promotion within six months to a year.

The organization maintains relationships with employer partners and checks in on the employees matched up with local businesses, to ensure the placement continues to be beneficial to all parties.

“IRC stays hands-on with the workers as they learn English and help to assist with translating and other necessary skills during the onboarding and even months afterwards,” Martinez said. “It’s truly been a great partnership between the Renaissance and IRC.”

More information is available at www.rescue.org.

the Davenport Hotel Group, Kalispel Linens, Sodexo, Spokane Produce, Holiday Inns, Fairfield Inn, Rockwood Retirement and Panda Express,” Christi Armstrong, employment services director for World Relief Spokane, said. “Over the years we have placed hundreds of people with these businesses and others.”

Like the International Rescue Committee, World Relief Spokane provides skills-based training, including soft skills training.

The International Rescue Committee doesn’t reach the whole of Washington state -- it works mostly within south King County, Kasaika said, with some placements going as far as Everett. For hospitality employers on the eastside of the state, though, there are organizations that can fulfill a similar purpose. One of these is World Relief Spokane.

“World Relief Spokane has long-standing relationships with a number of businesses in the hospitality and food service industries in the Spokane area including … “The feedback I commonly get from employers is that if a person has a solid foundation of soft skills and can manage the complexities of daily life, teaching them job skills is an easier, faster, less-expensive process,” Armstrong said. “We partner with Community Colleges of Spokane and other training programs for specific industry-related skills training.”

World Relief Spokane keeps up with the employees after the placement is made, to ensure all parties are satisfied.

“Our Employment Specialists often accompany clients to job interviews and assist with onboarding paperwork,” Armstrong said. “At times employers have concerns about potential language barriers, many of which can be resolved with the assistance of their employment specialist, who is able to reframe concepts using words within the employee’s vocabulary.”

World Relief Spokane provides interpreter services as well, Armstrong said. Employers looking to connect with them should seek their website worldreliefspokane.org. 