 Welcome to Restaurants Hawaii on Think Tech Hawaii. I am your host, Cheryl Matsuoka, the executive director of Hawaii Restaurant Association. And today we're continuing the discussion. We're discussing how everyone is struggling looking for employees. And this is another resource that we're sharing today. Last week, we spoke with the American Job Center, who's a huge resource for employers and restaurateurs who are looking for that workforce that they need to keep their businesses going. Today, we'll be discussing with two local representatives from our community college and our university. And to our viewers and business owners, this is a huge resource to find qualified and trained employees. As you all know, we're all struggling to fill vacant slots. And as we're looking to find employees, last week, the American Job Center gave us a lot of their resources where they can actually walk you through how employers can actually post their job openings on the American job posting site. They can have job fairs and they can even assist you with how the process goes and other resources that they have partnered with that may be other resources that you can find employees. So today, I'd like to have... First, I'm gonna go with Windward Community College. I'd like to introduce Daniel. Hey, Daniel, you wanna introduce yourself? Give them your title over there at Windward Community College. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. Appreciate it. My name is Daniel Swift. I work as a workforce development coordinator over at Windward Community College. And what that means basically is that we're preparing folks for industry in the hospitality and culinary arts careers at the certificate level, less of the associate degree level that you might get at a regular program like Capulani or Leeward's or the four year or beyond graduate level at UH Manoa. So we do specialized training and we are sort of that link between high schools and universities and industry. So we're that little first step in the direction towards a career in hospitality. Thank you, Daniel. I'd also like to introduce Jerry. Hey, Jerry, you wanna introduce yourself? Hello, hi, Cheryl. Hello, hi, everybody. I'm Jerry Agusar. I'm a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the School of Travel Industry Management at the Shidler College of Business. And what we do here is we're actually teaching the next level of management. We're teaching our students how to be managers and one of the biggest challenges that we have with the industry right now is the number one reason people leave their position is because of their relationship with their management or their supervisor. So it's so important to teach, to have managers be prepared, not just to how to manage, but how to manage people correctly so that we don't lose them. And that's what we try to do here. That's so important. Thank you, Jerry. So let's start with Daniel first. Daniel, let's kind of discuss a little bit about your program over there. I know one of the programs you have is Manage First, but you also do some specialized training for specific employers. That's correct. Yeah, we do all of the courses that are offered through National Restaurant Association's Manage First program. They run on a rotating basis and it depends on what the calendar schedule allows us to do and availability of our faculty and the demand on the side of the folks that are looking to get into industry. Along with back to work, for example, which kicked in right when the pandemic started was a big funder of that. And we put through about 300 students that were displaced workers and that were looking to make a shift or get a certification in advance of, you know, the industry reopening, which is where we're at now. So we do have that program. We also do, as you mentioned, some specialized training. We work with Meramed. We work with Queen Lily, Okolani Trust and Jerry's exactly right. The management side of things is critical. So we're trying to hit them at the beginning and give them the skills necessary to get their foot in the door, prove themselves in a workplace environment and then begin to start to absorb the information necessary to be successful managers. And then we hope that they'll look towards the CC system at Okolani and ConCC or over at Leeward and take that next step to get their associate degree. And then with luck, we're hoping, of course, that they move on to Scheidler or any of the programs at Minoa to help solidify their knowledge and expertise as managers. That is excellent. And one of the resources also that Daniel always tells me is, you know, hey, Cheryl, just let me know if you know of a job opening, you know, I can post it and I can also spread the word for you. So Daniel, is it OK if I give some of our viewers and our restaurateurs your email address? Oh, yes, of course. Yeah, and anyone can feel free to reach out to you or to me via you or to me directly. And I'm well connected with the folks at Leeward and at Copiolani on the hospitality side. And I'm meeting Jerry today. So now I'll be connected on the on the Minoa side and anything we can do to help facilitate getting folks into this industry. I spent 35 years in the business and I'm a little sad right now, to be honest with that. As we're coming out of the pandemic, I'm looking forward to a new generation of folks stepping in and really understanding how what a brilliant lifestyle and career you can have in the hospitality industry. And you're so right. You know, many of our viewers, you know, even if they're specifically not in the restaurant industry, they could have a niece or a nephew or somebody that they're guiding and can say, hey, did you know that when we're coming to college, provides the manage first restaurant and beverage training that they can go ahead and take a certification course to even see whether or not this is something that they're interested in to get a certification. Yeah, and real quick on the management side, one thing I would say for employers is with the shift to online and trying to get things done more quickly, we do specialized training. So if there's a restaurateur out there that wants to do a team building or build a cultural program that's a one day or a two day or spread out over a longer period of time, feel free to reach out. We do customized training and, you know, that can really lead to retention. So not only is it a challenge, of course, to get someone in the door, but we wanna try to retain those employees as well. That is so true, right? It's the one side filling the vacant positions, but the other side is creating that team, right? That corporate culture team that you become a family. And I know that when we're coming to college, you also can provide some tuition assistant advice. Yes, that's correct. There's a number of programs that are running at no cost to students and then some that are just funded partially through scholarship. So there's always a lot of scholarship money and educational money available at the university level and at the CC level. So I encourage everyone to explore that. Or if you have questions, just let me know. There's a couple of programs going on right now, Haunted Career Pathways is one that's out there and then you can reach out to me directly for some of the other information that's doing completely free training for folks. And that's so important. That's why I mentioned earlier in this, when we started is these local community colleges and universities are such a resource for our restaurant tours that many of them don't know that you offer these type of classes, certifications and knowledge so that they can come back, right? In our workforce with all this under their belt. And it's financial assistance. Absolutely. That's so important today. Yes, everybody, yes. So now I'd like to bring on Jerry. Hey Jerry, we wanna tell us a little bit about what UH Manoa is doing. Thank you, Gerald and Aloha. Yes, one of the big things about UH Manoa is we have a specific school of travel industry management. And in that program, we teach a number of food and beverage courses. And the top one is 313, which is a restaurant management class. And one of the things that we do in that class is the students learn the foundation, the food cost, how to determine food costs, how to determine beverage costs. And we go through a number of purchasing, things like this, but for their semester project, the students have to write a business plan. And with that, they can develop a business plan for any type of food or beverage operation. And it can be as small as a coffee shop or as much as a five-star restaurant or anything in between. And one of the things we do at the end of the semester when the students make a presentation is we bring in executives from the industry, whether it's the general manager of Dukes or the owners of Teakies or the food and beverage manager at Sheraton. We've actually had Chef Mavro. We've had some folks that work for Roy, et cetera. We just recently had Ryan Tanaka, who will be the next president of Hawaii Restaurant Association as, and they are judges. And they give, you know, good feedback, some a little stronger than others. I had one day there, we have a Dirk, which owns Il Gelato. He was there and Jeff Yeldon, who is the hotel manager for Hilton Hawaiian Village, and Andy Lachman, who's the head of food and beverage here at the university. All three of those gentlemen have PhD. So we had three PhDs in the front line asking these students questions. And they were a little, they forgot that these are junior, these students in the junior year of undergraduate, not PhD, they were asking PhD questions. But other than that, as a whole, the University of Hawaii at Manoa has a special career service center, who we put up slide one, please. And here we have a website on the bottom, but the Manoa Career Service Center reaches out to the whole campus. So it's not just the school of travel industry management or the Shidler College of Business, but the whole campus. Whatever we have, I think we have about 15,000 students. So there's an opportunity if you have a need, whether it's a line worker or you're willing to train, I've seen a number of folks that are willing to train. If they didn't get a chance to go to work with Daniel yet, that there's an opportunity here to, many people that are in the industry that I've met over the years that didn't start in food and beverage, right? Didn't come to a hospitality or travel industry management program, for instance, Dirk that owns Ill Gelato. He has a PhD in chemistry. He was a chemical engineer and then he turned into becoming a restaurateur or Gelato entrepreneur. So here's an opportunity to open the door to all students that are looking for jobs. And you know, here in Hawaii, it's so expensive. If you're going to college, you most likely need a job, at least a part-time job. Can we go to slide two, please? We have on our Shiloh website, if you're looking to put up, we have on the Korea services side, we have a thing called Handshake. Now Handshake is a platform that's throughout many universities, but the one here is for the island of Oahu. And you can go on the Shiloh website and when you're there, you click on Handshake and then it'll walk you through how to post. First you have to be put up to be accepted and then you can post your positions that you're looking for. And that'll go directly to students that are in the Korea Service Center at Shiloh. Another thing that might be a good resource is number three slide. Could you put up number three slide? At the Shiloh College of Business there, the Korea Service Center, they have an expo, YC year, that they open up for management positions. And one in February last year and then in October. And you can go to the under the Korea Service Center and you can look at it. And then you have to apply because we get so many businesses that come. And then that's an opportunity that can help later down the line. I know that right now most of my experience in the restaurant when I was managing a restaurant, I need a waiter that day. I need a cook that day, right? It's not like somebody gives two weeks notice. And but if you're looking for management further down the line, this career expo might be an opportunity to get there. And the final slide to put up is the name. Here we have Patrick Stewart, his email there and phone number as well as the student advisors for that. And Patrick is actually one of the people that put together the expo. So that there's some resources for you from the University of Hawaii, Afronova and specifically the Shilah College of Business. Yeah, so my personal experience, I was very fortunate like Daniel, I've worked in this industry many, many years. My family was in the business and I grew up in it. I did pull away for a little while then I came back. And I only became a teacher because I got hurt. I was the part owner general manager of a restaurant, fellow for curve, fluke accident that I became a teacher. And I must admit, my food and beverage class is my favorite class. And I've been fortunate to teach it for many, many years. And I think one of the great things about this industry is it's never boring. It's never boring and it's transferable. You can do it here in Oahu, you can do it on Maui, you can do it on, everybody needs to eat, everybody needs to eat. And as Daniel mentioned, that there's been a shift, right? With online or to go to the pandemic, it shifted even more and you need different skills now. You need to have that online skills, et cetera. But I think that all of this is an opportunity for the next generation of leaders in our industry. And we're doing great. The only challenges is just not enough employees. We just don't have enough employees. And as Daniel said, you need to make sure that we train our folks that we don't lose the ones we have. You fit that culture, as Cheryl mentioned. Once you get that culture going, it's like running a fine engine. When you have a big day and everybody's in front of the house and the back of the house and everybody's working together, it's just a good day. It's a good day. Especially this Sunday, when we're anticipating a big Father's Day, gentlemen. So many of the restaurants have already told me they've already geared up, inventories are ordered. Many of the restaurants are ready for a big Father's Day because we need it. The restaurants need that support from the community. So please, whoever is watching, if you can order takeout, if you don't wanna go to a restaurant, if you are happy to go to a restaurant, like I'll be going to a restaurant, make your reservations early because I know that it's gonna be hard to get a reservation. But thank you, Jerry, you're correct. The University of Manila is a huge resource for employers who are looking at hiring employees by the spring and fall career fair, the posting of all the jobs, which is both part-time and full-time, right? And all of the different resources that you can provide. And many times, if somebody is looking, Jerry knows the students and I've been able to utilize some of Jerry's students, too, right, Jerry? Yes, yep, and we have some really, at the end of the semester, when they do their projects, et cetera, and to some of the grades, I'm very, very hopeful for the future of our industry. We have some really sharp kids out there, and it's amazing how smart some of these young, I mean, when they tell me they're born after 2000, I'm like, 2000. Then I realize how old I am. Only today, we're talking to One Word Community College and the University of Hawaii, Manoa, but I just want to assure all the listeners also that KCC also has a program, right, Jeff, Ben? Yep, Daniel. Yeah, that's correct, absolutely. Laurie Myahara is the counselor over there. They do regular career fairs. The pandemic obviously put things on a different schedule on a different track, but regular graduating class career fairs would take place up there, and she is a great resource. I can put folks in touch with her, or you can reach out to any of the chairs, the department chairs for the culinary programs, whether it's Leeward or at Copiolani. And then I stopped by Han Sisi, Honolulu Community College yesterday. We've talked a little bit before about Harriet Program, and that's the union trust, and they've taken over the cafeteria at Honolulu Community College, and they're doing training for their workers, of course, that are in the union, and they're also doing operational aspects of the business for meals on wheels, and they're reviving the apprenticeship program. So for folks that are interested in that aspect of the training side of things, that she had another resource here for folks. That is excellent, Daniel. I didn't know about the HCC. I had invited the Copiolani Community College, Lauren, to jump on, but she already had another commitment. But even Leeward Community College, we are in touch also with Don Moriyama and Dagdag, who are also out there, and they also know of a lot of the students that are graduating out of their programs, because many of the restaurants, because they're community-based, wouldn't it be nice if you can find an employee if your restaurant is in the Leeward side, let's say, or like your stuff, right? The Windward side, and you have a restaurant for me, like at the Windward Mall, right? That's why I reached out to Daniel, because his students are normally in that neighborhood, and so your neighborhood community college or college makes sense because they know the students and they know what students are gonna be the students that would really help your business move forward. Absolutely, and I would say real quick, as Jerry mentioned, he has the guest speakers that come in and do assessments and evaluations. That's really a valuable experience for the students, the instructor, and even the folks that come in, but it never hurts to ask. If you reach out towards the end of the semester, if you know some of the instructors within the many programs that we have throughout the system, ask them if you can come in and be a guest speaker for a day and you can talk about your experiences. They may be able to get that into their calendar for the semester. A lot of times it's a really valuable experience for the students and for everyone involved. That is excellent. Thank you for that suggestion. We have the community colleges. We have the University of Hawaii, Manoa, and also Hawaii Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, which is how Daniel and I first started the conversation. The Educational Foundation has culinary programs in 10 of our local Hawaii high schools. And again, it's a credited pro-start program. And that's also a resource. Those high school culinary teachers know which students have that talent and the skill set and the knowledge now because pro-start is a two-year program, juniors and seniors. And by the time they graduate as a senior, they've got a lot of experience and they've got the knife skills and they've got the basic, the measurements and the recipe building skill set. So that's another resource for our restaurant tours is to reach out to those culinary instructors. And if you don't know who they are, as I mentioned, you reach out to me at info at HawaiiRestaurant.org and I can put you in touch with those pro-start teachers who are in our community also. All right, gentlemen. So I'm gonna let you just close it up because we're running out of time. I've got the five minute warning. So Jerry, I'm gonna give you the five minutes to wrap it up and say what you need to say so that people understand how the University of Hawaii is a resource to find employees. Yes, and I thank you, Cheryl. Yes, we are a major resource. We just have such a large student body, both within the school of travel industry management and the Shilah College of Business for management, but also as a university as a whole. And a lot, like I said, there's an opportunity a student could be studying biology or marine science and they get a job as a kitchen helper or as a waiter or a waitress. And the next thing, they get bit by the bug, the restaurant bug and they like it. And like I said, it's never boring. The industry is never boring, it's exciting. The fast pace, you meet lots and lots of people. If you like meeting people, this is the industry for you. And like I said earlier, it's transferable. You can take this skills and go to other places. You travel, they needed both here in Hawaii but on the outer islands or you could even travel overseas, et cetera. And one of the things that I would always recommend too is what Daniel offers. You have this group of folks that you're in your, for the, to the restaurant tours this is that you have a team already and you're probably looking forward to add to that team but make sure we take care of the team that you have. And it might be good to have Daniel put a day or two class to come in and team build or just something that makes the employees understand that, yes, we're trying to make it better. And that'll help keep them the retention. And I really think that that's very, very, very vital right now especially. Thank you. All right, it's like you mentioned, right? Is creating that team and giving each individual an opportunity to grow internally also. And that's so important. That's so important. All right, Daniel. So again, you've got your five minutes. What do you wanna share about the Windward Community College and how you can be a resource to our restaurant tours and businesses? Well, about the college, it's an awesome place. It's like a park if you've never been come on by. You see so many people and when we get students that come in, they're like, oh, I've never been to Windward Community College. Amazing campus. But yeah, on the programs, I'm just hoping that we can see an uptick in enrollment for the managed first and link that to what we're doing with the pro start, the high school level. Cause I think as you mentioned, Cheryl, it's an underutilized resource. A lot of restaurant owners might not think to look to high school culinary arts teachers and specifically pro start students for a foot in the door as entry level employees. And that's one of the things that we're hoping to create a link between, as I mentioned earlier, that high school, where that link between high schools, community colleges and universities. So we're happy to help anybody that might have questions or if you need me to point you in a direction of funding or students or training, just let me know. We're happy to help. And you're so right, Daniel, because I have restaurants that say, hey, we look for summer employment, right? We look for those employees that just can work in the summer just until they start school in August. And then maybe when they start coming on the weekends, so many of the restaurants will even take consideration of an employee that can only work for the summer and part time. So again, to our viewers in closing, last week we spoke to the American Job Center. If you didn't see that recording, please go back to our channel and watch it. They are a huge resource to help employers not only post the jobs, but also be able to view all of the candidates that are in their system that you can go through and reach out to because they're currently looking for employment. They also can assist you with job fairs and work with each individual organization to really fine tune that job description. This week we spoke to community colleges and the University of Hawaii, Manoa, because they are also a huge resource because they have students who are already showing a lot of interest. Now they've got certifications and education under their belt. So they're that much more valuable. So in closing, again, our food service industry is still struggling with the employee shortage and the rising cost of food, supplies and gas. And so we still asking our community support and understanding while we're going through this tough time. Should you have any questions again? If you're looking for employment, contact me, remember in our industry you don't even need a resume. You just contact me. All I need to know is the area that you're looking for and what type of position and I'll put you in touch with employers in your neighborhood who are currently looking for employees. Again, my name is Shera Matsuoka, the executive director of the Hawaii Restaurant Association, The Voice of Hawaii's Restaurants and Food Service Industry. Thank you very much. Thank you gentlemen. Aloha. Thank you Carol. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.