On the third Thursday of the year, the Las Vegas Culinary Academy hosted a graduation ceremony for 116 students, all of whom were newly certified in hospitality skills that keep city resorts running.

Wearing caps and robes and smiling in the photographs, the graduates have just completed courses in bus service, serving, bartending and cooking. The programs, some of which use hotel room simulators, are designed to prepare you for your first day on the job. And thanks to the academy’s partnerships with 37 employer sites, it’s not far from getting a certificate to getting a job.

LaTasha Fobbs, who just completed a three-week certification program for housekeepers, says she’s “already hired” at a hotel on the Strip and feels ready to work in her new “extravagant” environment. During her graduation speech to her classmates, friends and family, she delivered an inspiring message.

“It’s a hard work. … They said [it would be], in training. But if you continue, then you can. Don’t give up, she said. “Even if you need to refocus, refocus yourself…to succeed in life.”

After divorcing and moving to Las Vegas in 2021, the 49-year-old Oakland transplant woman and her two sons, 18 and 22, faced homelessness and were “trying to move forward,” Fobbs tells the weekly.

“My son ended up in a shelter for homeless teenagers. And they were blessed to get an apartment,” she says, pointing to her sons Nehemiah and Tyrell in the audience. “These are my whys. That’s why I get up, why I keep going, why I strive, why I persevere. They are my life.”

While attending a recruitment event hosted by MGM Resorts—one of Nevada’s largest employers—she found the job she wanted and learned she needed to take a home improvement certification course to get it.

LaTasha Fobbs with sons Nehemiah (left) and Tyrell at the 2023 Winter Class graduation ceremony at the Las Vegas Culinary Academy.

“The program helped me not only with transportation, but also with clothes, shoes…uniforms,” she says, adding that she also offers childcare assistance to students who need it. “[They] make sure they help you get to the next level.”

When Fobbs qualifies for further training at the academy in six months, she plans to learn new skills to advance her career. “I will definitely come back to cook this weekend,” she says. “I would like to open Tashi’s Deli one day.”

The Culinary Academy, the trust of the local culinary and bartending union, holds graduations quarterly. The Academy offers 15 study programs lasting from three to 17 weeks.

This is one example of employment programs helping Southern Nevada’s rebounding job market.

Nevada started 2023 with the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 5.2%, according to a January 24 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. December was the third month in a row that the unemployment rate increased after at least 21 straight months of decline.

Unemployment in Clark County is above the state average, with a current rate of 5.4%.

Ana Puljić, Culinary Academy’s executive director of institutional partnerships and program development, says the organization is working on “multiple initiatives” to help fill vacancies in the lagging hospitality sector.

“An initiative that works really well for employers and for us is that the employer picks a person and pays them while they are in training,” Pulich explains, adding that the academy works with “almost all” Strip facilities to fill vacancies. . .

Like Fobbs, 85% of students are eligible for financial aid through programs with their employer partners or similar grants, so they don’t have to pay out of pocket for their tuition. Pulich says the academy also works “very closely” with government employment agencies such as EmployNV, which can help students with training and employment.

The result of these comprehensive services and coordinated efforts? According to the representative of the academy, the employment rate among graduates is 93%.

David Schmidt, chief economist for the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), emphasizes that job growth remains “relatively strong” compared to 2021. He also says that the increase in unemployment may be due to the return of workers to the labor market.

“Annual job growth remains … at 3.8 percent but is slowing down with a slight decline from the November peak,” Schmidt said in a January statement. “The unemployment rate has exceeded 5 percent and is likely to remain one of the highest rates in the country. … The labor force participation rate has also increased, indicating that workers continue to return to the labor market.”

The comments come after DETR marked a “record high” for jobs in the state since the pandemic in July. In a press release from the Governor’s Office, Schmidt said the net increase in jobs is a reflection of the “growing diversification of the state’s economy,” while noting that the leisure and hospitality sector is still about 30,000 jobs behind pre-pandemic numbers. .

Correcting these numbers will not only help the economy recover, but also bring new purpose to those looking for a fresh start. Speaking on the podium to her graduating class, Fobbs spoke of her pride in a job well done.

“Before I came [to the academy], I worked at a gas station and in a call center. I needed something else,” she said. “No matter what you do, be it bartending or serving guests, you have to be the best at what you do. … You have to have standards.”

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