Aramark: Setting Students Up for Success in Hospitality Careers.

To help fuel future careers in the hospitality industry, Aramark Collegiate Hospitality has developed and launched a hands-on, immersive Student Hospitality Management Program. The program trains pertinent job skills and guides college and university students to become successful leaders.

In addition to providing a valuable learning experience with a leader in hospitality, the program provides an opportunity to launch students' long-term careers with Aramark after they graduate.

The Student Hospitality Management Program, which started earlier this month, is being piloted at Indiana's Purdue University, which consistently ranks as one of the leading hospitality and tourism management (HTM) programs both globally and nationally.

Aramark Collegiate Hospitality has partnered with the university for more than three years, providing retail food and beverage services at more than 30 outlets across the campus.

'We talked with our clients at Purdue about ways to expand our partnership, and a hospitality internship program seemed like a great fit,' said Joanna Boulanger, Aramark Resident District Manager, who is also a graduate of Purdue's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management 'The internship is customized to create a program for each student's specific interests.'

Futures Better Served

The Aramark team at Purdue enlisted other Aramark Collegiate Hospitality experts to develop the Student Hospitality Management Program so it could be tested and expanded to other universities in the future while complementing existing Aramark leadership programs.

The program was introduced at a campus career fair and through Purdue's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management promotions and word-of-mouth. Interviews with Purdue students began in fall 2023. Three students-one senior and two juniors-were selected to participate in the inaugural internship program this semester.

'I am really interested in food management and wanted to grow those skills,' said student intern Ruthie Seals, a junior studying HTM at Purdue. 'Students certainly are set up for success while working in this internship program. I hope to become a future leader in the hospitality industry, and I also hope to start my career with Aramark.'

Ruthie Seals

Ruthie Seals

The Student Hospitality Management Program takes place over 16 weeks with a commitment from students of 20 hours per week. The program consists of comprehensive, hands-on training in dining operations, leadership, human resources, marketing, finance and accounting, supply chain, nutrition, sustainability and more.

Each intern is paired with an experienced Aramark Collegiate Hospitality management mentor who provides guidance, support and feedback, along with bi-weekly one-on-one leadership discussions to encourage growth and professional connections with Aramark leaders in areas of each student's interests.

Mentors also collaborate with other Aramark Collegiate Hospitality department managers to evaluate student progress and recommend future placement and skills-building.

A review, assessment, and feedback discussion takes place at the end of the 16-week program.

'The program is structured so students learn a great deal with us while they're also earning class credits,' said Paul Gary, Aramark Collegiate Hospitality Human Resources Manager at Purdue. 'Down the line, we hope this will lead to more students entering into Aramark's S2L (Step Up to Leadership) and A2L (Accelerate to Leadership) programs to better prepare them for the future-and for futures with Aramark.'

(C) 2024 Electronic News Publishing, source ENP Newswire