ECTC Hospitality

Cliff Williams / TPI Elmore County Technical Center hospitality instructor Denise Young helps Alaysia Moore, a sophomore at Wetumpka High School, during a classroom session at the center last week.

Interactions between people in the marketplace are an everyday occurrence.

Customer service is most often talked about between servers, cashiers and their customers. But Elmore County Technical Center hospitality and tourism instructor Denise Young said it is a universal skill everyone needs.

“Anything you do is customer service based,” Young said. “Whether it is in the hospitality industry or nursing, you are going to interact with people and need customer service skills. That is the basis for the program.”

Learning the ins and outs of customer service was one of the reasons Wetumpka High School junior Chania Hudson signed up for the course.

“I want to open my own business someday,” Hudson said. “In hospitality we learn a lot about customer service. I think I can use it.”

Students in the hospitality program spend the first semester partnered with new students in culinary. It is spent in the kitchen and dining room where students learn appropriate cooking techniques and how to serve food in a banquet setting. The skills are useful for the hospitality and tourism students as they may work in the lodging industry where food is served.

The second semester starts with studies in hospitality. Young gets them started quickly, working towards certifications in the hospitality industry. First up is hotel operations.

“They will be certified in customer service/guest services,” Young said. “It is good for the hotel industry but anything in hospitality.”

Students get the credential through the Alabama Community College System, the Innovation Center and Central Alabama Community College. 

“They offer lots of courses, probably 20 or more,” Young said. “They have the hotel operations course that falls in line with our curriculum. We are able to use it and it's free. It’s great to be able to piggyback on a free offer for the students.”

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CACC staff will aid in some of the labs for the students this semester. In the past, students have worked with Russell Lands for labs. Young is pleased another local partner has come on board to help too.

“We are collaborating with management at Hampton Inn in Wetumpka,” Young said. “We are trying to incorporate things the students learn in the lab.”

Students will hone skills for the lodging industry, such as turning over rooms and front desk services.

Young came to the tech center after 22 years in a third grade classroom. Her daughter was in the hospitality program. Young is also certified in Family and Consumer Sciences and switched to the tech center thinking she had a lot to offer students. 

“Not every student is college bound,” Young said. “My child is in college but the skills she learned here have helped her in college and helped outside of the classroom. As your children get older and priorities change, you see benefits in things you didn’t when you were younger.”

The program is growing adding to its curriculum sports recreation and entertainment management. The students will learn how to manage concessions and how to manage tournaments and events.

Young believes the students in the program are preparing for good things that are already here and growing.

“Hospitality and tourism is the No. 1 industry in Alabama,” Young said. “There are so many jobs in it that encompass everything.”