HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – A new round of free hotel job training at Holyoke Community College started July 12.

The course is to provide students with up-to-date knowledge of the hotel industry, hands-on experience in front desk and/or room attendant roles, workplace skills, resume building, interviewing, job search assistance, and connections to local employers.

There was $35,000 from a 2019 Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant to equip HCC’S hotel lab, which funds purchases for educational initiatives linked to workforce needs.

The setting of the lab will appear similar to a hotel reception area with a front desk and adjoining guest room obtained with modern technology and software. The facility is to give students the ability to learn in a model hotel room and reception lobby, gain knowledge about key card access systems and understand point-of-sale technology.

  • Courtesy of Holyoke Community College.

“My main goal is to work at MGM and improve myself and my career and move up the levels.
I got my mom to do it with me and it’s very exciting to do it together,” said Sandra Rodriguez, an HCC student.

No high school diploma or GED/HiSET test was required for admission and the training course was free to qualified applicants.