Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 25, 1994                   TAG: 9412220048
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROANOKE TO SERVE UP JOB TRAINING

Without dissent, council on Monday approved spending $110,000 for training 100 city residents as waiters and waitresses, banquet servers and bellhops before the hotel's scheduled reopening next April.

The money, part of federal Community Development and Block Grant funding the city receives each year, will go to the Fifth District Employment and Training Consortium, a regional job training agency funded by the state and local governments.

That agency will sponsor two programs. One is a five-day employment application seminar that will help already skilled hotel workers polish their resume-writing and interviewing skills. The consortium will conduct that program beginning on Oct. 31.

The other, which will be contracted outside the agency, is a six-week course to give unskilled workers training in hotel work, said Vickie Price, the consortium's administrator. It is slated to start at the end of November.

"This will give them a competitive edge when applying for these jobs. Rather then walking off the street with no skills, they'll be able to show a certificate for the six weeks of training," Price said.

About 350 workers will be needed for the hotel's planned opening in April, said Gary Walton, general manager of the hotel and conference center. Hiring likely will begin in February. And 90 to 95 percent of the jobs will be full-time positions, Walton said.

Walton said there are no guarantees that people who take the training course will be offered jobs at the hotel.

However, "they're going to be in a better position to be hired. We hope [the consortium] is very successful in their efforts, because we need a giant number of people," he said.

City officials for years have promised to help disadvantaged local residents grab a piece of the job pie that the $42 million redevelopment of the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center is expected to bring.

The city will also take other steps to help secure jobs at the hotel for local workers, particularly those who live in Historic Gainsboro near the hotel, said Assistant City Manager Jim Ritchie.

That includes notifying Gainsboro residents of openings when they arise, he said.

Price said both programs will operate on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information about the training, call Jacquie Roberts at 981-2520.