Hospitality Training

Hospitality Language Training Program

CultureLink’s launched its Hospitality Language Training Program in October 2017, in partnership with the Hospitality Workers Training Centre (HWTC).

The goal of the program was to address the challenges that Syrian newcomers faced in finding employment. It was designed and implemented to help its participants integrate into the job market and the community. Certainly, the pilot program provided customized language training and access to entry-level positions in the Hospitality industry. Since then, 40 participants have completed the Hospitality Language Training Program. As a result, some were employed within the industry or started their own catering businesses, others resumed their jobs after enhancing their industry-specific language skills.

Our program’s mission is to help participants raise their hospitality-specific English language skills from CLB Level 4 to CLB Level 5. Those who are successful can enrol into HWTC’s Hospitality and Food Service Employment Training programs, which include skills training, post-employment support and concurrent wraparound service coordination. CultureLink will offer additional mentorship to those who are not yet ready for HWTC’s programs.

WHAT YOU GET

  • Receive training by industry experts
  • Connect with employers through placement (70% hiring rate)
  • Be awarded certificates such as WHMIS, Smart Serve and Food Handler
  • Get support before and during your first year of employment

Who is it for?

All participants must:

  • Be Permanent Residents
  • Want to work in the Hospitality industry
  • Be in good physical condition and able to lift 10kg
  • Be able to attend all 12 sessions
  • Have English level CLB 4 and up.

Volunteer mentors are the heart of the program. They not only run the language component of it, but they also help to make the materials and activities more relevant and engaging. Become a mentor.

Join the program!

Visit CultureLink’s Events Calendar for upcoming dates.
For more information, contact Hanaa at 416 768 6074 or halsadi@culturelink.ca.

Testimonials 

“I am so glad I volunteered to be a Hospitality Language Training Program mentor. After getting to know each of the mentees, I feel inspired by their tenacity and my faith in humanity has been rejuvenated! I feel proud to be a Canadian, yet also humbled at the same time, after hearing about the hardships and sacrifices each of them had to go through in order to get to Canada and enrolled into this program. Most of all, I’m very grateful for settlement organizations such as Culturelink that have done so much for so many newcomers, delivering value-driven programs day in and day out.” – Chelsea V. Chen

“This is a great program for newcomers who wish to work in the restaurant and hospitality industry. It not only explains the terminology of the industry, but also gives the students a realistic experience of expectations, difficulties, and culture of the Canadian hospitality industry. This program works on many levels to the benefit of the newcomer participants. Hanaa, the program coordinator, did a great job organizing this course, it was a ton of work, and she succeeded in making it work. I enjoyed working with her and all the participants, it was time well spent.” – Paul Oxley

“In my role as an interpreter, I observed the improvement of the participants from the beginning till the end of the course. In the beginning, they were counting on interpretation, but in the end, they were posing and answering questions easily by themselves. This program is really good mostly for refugees, it introduces them to this industry with a lot of resources and gives them the opportunity to find a job much easier, I hope other refugees will benefit from such programs.” – Khadije Houri