MONROE - Demand for skilled workers in the kitchen, only meant to rise within the next half-decade, has prompted action by an area educational institution.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for cooks is positive, with employment set to grow 6 percent through 2026. Blackhawk Technical College recently found that labor market data of the six counties it serves reflects a gap of 1,300 line cooks between 2017 and 2022, echoing the federal findings.
Blackhawk administration approached the Blackhawk Technical College District Board in October with the data, including projections of a 5 percent increase in regional occupations and a 4 percent increase statewide.
These figures prompted a change in curriculum by the college; the creation of the Culinary Production Specialist Technical Diploma Program. A one-year degree that Culinary Arts Program Coordinator Joe Wollinger, chef and instructor of the course, said technically will only require seven months of participation. The program begins this month and ends in December.
"Our survey found enough in Beloit and Janesville that said 'We need,' and we received several calls from restaurants in Monroe looking to hire," Wollinger said.
He added that there have been incidents in Madison where restaurants never opened because they could not find kitchen staff.
Prior to the development of this diploma program, the college had only been training head chefs. Now students who want to adapt skills to work in a kitchen can spend two days in a classroom in downtown Janesville and another two learning on-site at a local restaurant with a paid internship. The food service program teaches individuals looking to run a sauté station in an upscale restaurant or even manning the line at a supper club.
Wollinger said working while learning pays for the cost of the program, and placement would be prioritized by the student's home location.
"Tuition is actually covered by what you earn," he said. "If there's a student in Green County, we'd definitely try to place them there."
Managers and owners of area restaurants have no problem with the institutional attempt to bolster the supply of qualified cooks.
Shawna Nevil, manager of the New Glarus Hotel Restaurant, said it's not just cooks the business has trouble finding.
"There's a shortage in every position within our restaurant, from chefs to servers to dishwashers to bartenders," Nevil said, citing the seasonal nature of the business as one reason for a shortage in quality workers. "It's hard to get people to apply."
Nevil said she felt the program was a good idea and welcomed workers who wouldn't mind manning a kitchen on weekends, adding that the business has experienced the shortage for more than a year.
Workers in the program are meant to learn how to enforce health and safety standards, properly prepare food skillfully, adapt to meet changing needs and manage food storage and inventory as well as cost, according to the BTC course website.
In Monroe, Amy Harkrider of Amy's Corner Cafe, a provider of homemade desserts and diner staples, has had a sign soliciting applications for a line cook in the window for more than two months. Harkrider said "of course" she felt such a program would benefit local businesses like hers.
"Applications seem to come in waves, but to get people who can actually - it's easy to teach people skills like chopping or dicing, but to find someone who can work in our kitchen when we make everything from scratch, that's harder," she said.
Classes for the program begin today.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for cooks is positive, with employment set to grow 6 percent through 2026. Blackhawk Technical College recently found that labor market data of the six counties it serves reflects a gap of 1,300 line cooks between 2017 and 2022, echoing the federal findings.
Blackhawk administration approached the Blackhawk Technical College District Board in October with the data, including projections of a 5 percent increase in regional occupations and a 4 percent increase statewide.
These figures prompted a change in curriculum by the college; the creation of the Culinary Production Specialist Technical Diploma Program. A one-year degree that Culinary Arts Program Coordinator Joe Wollinger, chef and instructor of the course, said technically will only require seven months of participation. The program begins this month and ends in December.
"Our survey found enough in Beloit and Janesville that said 'We need,' and we received several calls from restaurants in Monroe looking to hire," Wollinger said.
He added that there have been incidents in Madison where restaurants never opened because they could not find kitchen staff.
Prior to the development of this diploma program, the college had only been training head chefs. Now students who want to adapt skills to work in a kitchen can spend two days in a classroom in downtown Janesville and another two learning on-site at a local restaurant with a paid internship. The food service program teaches individuals looking to run a sauté station in an upscale restaurant or even manning the line at a supper club.
Wollinger said working while learning pays for the cost of the program, and placement would be prioritized by the student's home location.
"Tuition is actually covered by what you earn," he said. "If there's a student in Green County, we'd definitely try to place them there."
Managers and owners of area restaurants have no problem with the institutional attempt to bolster the supply of qualified cooks.
Shawna Nevil, manager of the New Glarus Hotel Restaurant, said it's not just cooks the business has trouble finding.
"There's a shortage in every position within our restaurant, from chefs to servers to dishwashers to bartenders," Nevil said, citing the seasonal nature of the business as one reason for a shortage in quality workers. "It's hard to get people to apply."
Nevil said she felt the program was a good idea and welcomed workers who wouldn't mind manning a kitchen on weekends, adding that the business has experienced the shortage for more than a year.
Workers in the program are meant to learn how to enforce health and safety standards, properly prepare food skillfully, adapt to meet changing needs and manage food storage and inventory as well as cost, according to the BTC course website.
In Monroe, Amy Harkrider of Amy's Corner Cafe, a provider of homemade desserts and diner staples, has had a sign soliciting applications for a line cook in the window for more than two months. Harkrider said "of course" she felt such a program would benefit local businesses like hers.
"Applications seem to come in waves, but to get people who can actually - it's easy to teach people skills like chopping or dicing, but to find someone who can work in our kitchen when we make everything from scratch, that's harder," she said.
Classes for the program begin today.