Free training courses open for restaurant industry workforce

Funded by federal CARES Act dollars, 10 courses designed to help retrain and teach additional skills to Delaware’s restaurant workforce are now available free of charge.

The Rapid Workforce Training and Redeployment Training Initiative, later named Forward Delaware, was created to assist Delaware workers and their families who have lost jobs and income due to the COVID-19 crisis. Free training is being provided to those employed or job-seeking in key industries with high demand for skilled workers.

To meet the unique training needs and statewide food safety requirements for restaurant workers, the Delaware Restaurant Association is providing industry-recognized training courses from ServSafe, the University of Delaware and its own industry-specific training courses. The association estimates it will have provided more than 5,300 competed training courses by summer 2021.

“We know that our ability to rebound and get Delaware working again will partly rely on our ability to provide training for individuals that need it and meet those jobs in high demand,” said Gov. John Carney.

The Forward Delaware program was implemented with $10 million of federal CARES Act funding to jump-start retraining programs. The Delaware Department of Labor chose industry partners to establish training and certification programs for workers in the food service, healthcare, construction, logistics/transportation and information technology fields.

Rebuilding Delaware’s workforce after months of statewide job loss and underemployment is a top priority for the state and individual industries impacted by the pandemic. The state lost 74,700 jobs at the height of the pandemic, with the restaurant industry hit the hardest – losing two-thirds of its workforce, and still facing employment levels at a 20 percent deficit as of January 2021, compared with 2020 employment numbers.

"Delaware's restaurant industry has been devastated by COVID-19, suffering a staggering $1 billion loss in sales revenue since March 2020. And the reality is that with business shutdowns and continued capacity restrictions, many Delawareans are suffering underemployment from decreased hours, and total unemployment from furloughs and layoffs. The Forward Delaware Rapid Workforce Training grant funding will allow us, in partnership with the University of Delaware and other educational institutions, to offer valuable training that can help get people back to work, with industry-recognized credentials and higher earning potential. We're excited to begin offering these training opportunities and help move our industry forward in 2021,” said Carrie Leishman, Delaware Restaurant Association president and CEO.

Training courses provided by the DRA include: ServSafe Food Protection Manager, Allergens and Food Handler courses; ServSafe  Sexual Harassment Prevention; ServSafe Understanding Unconscious Bias; DRA Online Alcoholic Beverage Server Training; DRA Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace awareness and prevention course for managers; and University of Delaware’s HR Competencies for Restaurant Managers.

The DRA offered training programs to its statewide membership beginning in December 2020. As of Feb. 1, anyone residing in Delaware or currently working in a Delaware restaurant is eligible to register to receive the free training. Some eligibility verification and COVID-related documents must be completed by registrants as part of federal and state grant funding requirements. To date, 324 people in Delaware have received 636 training courses. Those interested in receiving the training are able to register for multiple courses if desired.

For more information, go to delawarerestaurant.org/freeindustrytraining and forwarddelaware.com.