Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Western New York Chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) is holding an informational event on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. EST at Sahlen Field on the Proper Procedures for Hiring Immigrants to help local business owners connect with potential employees who have recently arrived in the United States.
The event is being held in partnership with local community service groups like the International Institute of Buffalo, Jewish Family Services and Journey’s End Refugees Services.
"We want to reach out to our members and non-members, and not only restaurants, but small businesses that are interested in hiring immigrants, and going through the correct procedures of how to hire immigrants to make sure all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted so we can get people to work right away.," said Maria MacPeek, WNY Territory Manager for NYRSA.
"It's giving them outlets to hire immigrants. Where where do we find immigrants? How do we get them aboard on staff? How do we do it correctly? And again, having these resources to come in and help us fill those open vacancies for jobs, it could be a game changer."
While there continues to be some work shortages across the board, the restaurant industry, in particular, continues to face a workforce shortage and hiring challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's been difficult to find people and to get them in the jobs most needed. It's been very difficult," MacPeek said. "We've been short-staffed, a lot of restaurants have closed certain days, limited their hours. Restaurants, pre-COVID, that would be open until midnight are only open until 9 p.m. Some people who would open early for an earlier lunch, they're not opening until noon. They were open seven days-a-week, and now they're all open five. Or they might have been open for lunches, but now they're only open for dinners. So it's been very different, and that is largely due to staffing, the shortage of staff."
As restaurants are hiring all the time, Tuesday's event will allow the chance for local business owners to find the right people in all positions in a restaurant. This includes dishwashers, hosts, servers, cooks and more.
"We're even willing to train the right people who maybe don't have any restaurant experience at all, just so we can keep the doors open and keep our guests happy," MacPeek said. "We're in the hospitality industry. We want to get back to being full service and hospitable to everyone."
MacPeek adds having the partnerships with organizations like the International Institute of Buffalo, Jewish Family Services and Journey’s End Refugees Services has significant meaning not just to help the people they serve get jobs, but also help businesses who may not know the proper procedures to hiring immigrants.
"They have these potential staff members who they have been training for a while. Since they've gotten to the country, they've started to train them in different jobs, and how to perform in different businesses. And also helping them to teach the English language, because most people, that's not their first language when they come here to this country. These guys have been doing this for so long and they're so good at it, so we're just so thankful they said 'yes' to partnering with us with this event, and to educate us on how to do everything correctly," MacPeek said.
For any local businesses interested in attending, they can register here:
Registration is free for members of the NYSRA, and $5 for non-members, but MacPeek feels this event is well-worth the $5 admission if you are looking to address some staffing shortages.