MGM representatives spoke to culinary arts students from both high schools at Tiger’s Pride on Tuesday. (Submitted photo)
WESTFIELD – MGM representatives were treated to breakfast at Tiger’s Pride on Tuesday morning prepared by the culinary arts students at Westfield Technical Academy and Westfield High School. The students in turn were treated to a presentation by Wanda Gispert, vice president of workforce development for MGM Springfield and Renata De Almeida, workforce development manager, on some of the employment opportunities that will be available after MGM Springfield opens its doors in September of 2018.
The meeting was the result of a conference attended by WTA principal Joseph Langone and student services coordinator Rob Ollari in March, at which they met the MGM pair. WPS superintendent Stefan Czaporowski then invited the team out to Westfield for a meeting with Mayor Brian P. Sullivan, where they made plans for the breakfast.
WTA principal Joseph Langone and WHS principal Charles Jendrysik stand next to carved ice sculpture and fruit table prepared by culinary arts students. (Submitted photo)
Langone said the energy at the breakfast was amazing. “Everyone was very pumped,” he added. He said all of the students brought their A+ game. They had a pastry station, omelet station and fruit table on which a chainsaw-carved ice sculpture stood. Langone said it was a joint effort between Westfield Tech culinary instructors Phil Mucciaroni, Eric Rogers and shop assistant Stacy Boisseau, and Westfield High School’s culinary program under family consumer science teacher Margaret Toomey and principal Charles Jendrysik.
“The ladies raved about the breakfast,” Langone said. They noted the level of expertise, the quality of the service and the food, and said the students were on track for the type of people they want to hire.
The omelet station at the breakfast. (Submitted photo)
One of the reasons for the excitement in the room was the announcement that MGM will be looking to hire 3,000 people when they open. He said 30% of the jobs will be in gaming and 70% in the hospitality and entertainment fields, which will involve a lot of family friendly venues such as bowling alleys and movie theatres. One-third of the jobs will be in the culinary and hospitality fields, where there will be 1,000 positions available. MGM plans to open 18 restaurants, Czaporowski said. They have a contract with Springfield to hire one-third of the employees from the city, but know that they are not going to be able to supply all their workforce needs from Springfield.
WHS principal Charles Jendrysik, MGM VP of workforce development Wanda Gispert, WPS superintendent Stefan Czaporowski, MGM workforce development manager Renata De Almeida and WTA principal Joseph Langone. (Submitted photo)
Most of the high school students they addressed on Tuesday are not old enough now to work for MGM, as employees must be at least 18 years old, and on the gaming side, 21 years old. “It was very important for me and Stefan to make sure our kids had an opportunity to hear what was coming,” Langone said.
On the superintendent’s part, he was pleased that Gispert and De Almeida spoke about essential skills that they are looking for in new hires, including coming to work on time and showing up. They told the students the number one reason they let people go is attendance. They also gave tips on how to dress for interviews and on cleaning up social media profiles.
“These are essential skills. I’m so glad they talked to the students about them,” Czaporowski said. He said from the school district perspective they are looking to increase both career and college opportunities for all students. He said there will be many other opportunities at MGM, including information technology and business, and opportunities for career advancement.
Toward that end, Langone and Jendrysik invited the pair back on June 8 to speak to students in IT, business tech and graphic arts. Czaporowski also invited them to participate in the combined WTA and WHS Career Fair at Westfield State on June 16. He said he also hopes to set up a community workforce presentation for adults in the area.
“We’re presenting all options to our students, and we’re excited to do that. We’re partnering with many businesses in the area. MGM is just the latest,” Czaporowski said.
