ProStart Ignites Restaurant Industry Careers

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Feb. 27, 2017 -- On Tuesday, February 28, approximately 80 high school students from four New Jersey counties will compete in the annual ProStart Competition at Hudson County Community College Convention Center in Jersey City. Participants vie for college scholarships and a chance to represent the Garden State at the national contest this spring. Half the students comprise the culinary division, racing the clock to develop gourmet meals, while the remaining participants present original restaurant concepts in a sales pitch contest among the management teams.

“The ProStart Program teaches young adults more than culinary and restaurant management skills,” said Marilou Halvorsen, president of the New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association. “These students learn critical thinking, time management, teamwork, dependability and other professional development skills that will help them succeed in whatever career they choose,” she added.

Nearly a decade after its initial launch, the NJ ProStart Program has become a critical factor in our state’s economic health and wellbeing. ProStart is the only homegrown educational program acting as a feeder program for the diminishing workforce of our state’s $16 billion restaurant industry.

“ProStart combats many problems our state faces: a shortage of skilled workers, lack of career opportunities for youth, and students’ soaring college debt,” added Halvorsen. "The fact that most of the 2,000 participating ProStart students statewide graduate ServSafe certified makes them immediately employable in our industry.” Every restaurant in New Jersey is mandated to have at least one employee with this certification.

The program, which grew to reach nearly 140,000 students nationwide in 2016, immerses students in a leading-edge curriculum that develops highly trained workers. Research shows that high school students involved in career and technical education programs are more engaged, perform better, and graduate at a rate fifteen percent higher than the average student.

For more information on the ProStart Program or the competition, please contact Leslie Steele at [email protected] or 609-599-3316.

Contact:
Karen Geisel
518-421-3435