A resurgent hospitality sector needs new talent, and a Langley school has what they’re looking for

April 27, 2022

Now is a good time to be looking for work in the hospitality industry, according to Ines Montoya, business-community liaison with WorkBC in Langley.

“Employers are dying for people,” Montoya told the Langley Advance Times.”

Montoya was interviewed at the first hospitality-industry-focused career fair at Langley’s Walnut Grove Secondary School (WGSS), which is known for the high calibre of its culinary arts program.

Held on Wednesday, April 20, the event, co-organized by WorkBC and the school district, was a way of letting businesses know about the WGSS course, said Montoya.

‘People don’t know how good the program is,” Montoya enthused.

“We have amazing talent coming up.”

Cherise McGee, career advisor at Walnut Grove, was pleased with the response by employers and students, calling the turnout “fantastic.”

“Its just our way of connecting students, to people who are looking to hire students,” Mcgee remarked.

Thanks to their relationship with the Vancouver Community College culinary arts program that trains professional chefs, Walnut Grove students can graduate with their Chef’s professional level one, a solid foundation of essential skills.

Kalli Cartwright, VCC operations manager, explained the Langley school operates as a “satellite campus” of the VCC culinary arts program, and predicted grads will have little trouble finding jobs.

“There’s a lot of work out there,” Cartright noted.

Source: Langley Advance Times