Camosun campaign aims to help local restaurants through pandemic
Taylor Reynolds works at Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse in Saanichton, B.C., where she is the lead event coordinator. She has worked in the hospitality industry, on and off, for the last 10 years.
After getting her first office job she soon realized cubical life wasn’t a good fit.
“I realized it wasn’t for me and miss the hospitality life,” said Reynolds. “The hustle and bustle.”
She enrolled in Camosun College’s hospitality management program.
“We learn teamwork, leadership skills, event management skills which I’ve taken from that course and brought it into this career,” she said.
“They’re taking accounting, marketing, HR,” said Carl Everitt, chair of the hospitality and tourism management program at Camosun College. “All the things that they’re going to need to be effective managers out there in the industry.”
Now more than ever, the hospitality industry needs people with those skills.
“We estimate we’re about 30,000 to 40,000 people short in the industry,” said Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the British Columbia Restaurant and Food Services Association.
With many people leaving the industry during the pandemic, the sector is in crisis.
So, from Sept. 16 to 23, Camosun is running a campaign called Food Affair.
“We came up with this idea that we would find 50 restaurants in the local community and during Camosun’s 50th birthday celebration, we would mobilize people from the college community to those restaurants,” said Everitt. “Just to give back to that community that has gone through a real tough time in the last year and a half.”
Sea Cider is one of those venues and that is where Taylor is now gainfully employed.
“I really enjoy it or else I wouldn’t be in this industry,” said Reynolds. “It is hard at times but I feel like, yeah, it’s really rewarding.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.