PLANO, Texas—Aimbridge Hospitality, a global hospitality company, has added a cohort of 40 new associates to its 2021 Fall class. As the company prioritizes the education of its future leaders, Aimbridge partnered with AHLA Foundation’s Lodging Manager Apprenticeship program and has enrolled a total of 115 associates, inclusive of the new cohort, in the program this year.
“We are thrilled to welcome 40 new hotel associates to the program, each selected by their general manager for their tremendous leadership potential. Aimbridge remains deeply committed to investing in the development of our associates and providing career pathways for our next generation of leaders,” said Ann Christenson, chief human resources officer of Aimbridge Hospitality. “It is a core part of our company culture to support such an in-depth training program that will help our associates grow and accelerate their careers with Aimbridge.”
The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) Foundation partnered with the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF) to create the first hospitality apprenticeship program, funded by The Department of Labor, to expand apprenticeship in the hospitality industry. The Lodging Manager apprenticeship program, which Aimbridge Hospitality participates in, provides an avenue for management companies to increase “bench strength” across the industry for supervisory and managerial positions and qualified candidates.
Rosanna Maietta, president of the AHLA Foundation added, “As a people-first industry, hospitality creates lifelong careers—offering more than 200 careers and providing a clear path toward upward mobility. At a time when the industry is ramping back up to meet customer demands while facing an acute labor shortage, our partnership with Aimbridge to fast-track careers is essential. We are so grateful to Aimbridge for embracing the AHLA Foundation program which has led to a 90 percent retention rate and has enabled so many to rise up through the ranks in the industry. We look forward to watching the Aimbridge apprentices grow their careers and advance the future of the hospitality industry.”
The seventh annual National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) is taking place November 15-21, 2021. Apprentices, made up of some of the highest performing employees showing an aptitude for management, benefit from on-the-job training and related educational instruction and the ability to learn new skills while receiving paychecks from day one. In turn, the apprenticeship program benefits participating companies by creating highly skilled employees, raising productivity levels, opening the door to potential federal and local funding, and decreasing turnover rates, with roughly 94 percent of apprentices continuing employment with the company where they apprentice. While the program is self-paced, it usually takes apprentices about one year to complete while also working full time at their respective hotels.
