In the House of Mouse, hospitality is the name of the game, and managers are eager to see veterans play ball.
Walt Disney World, the largest single-site employer in the U.S., employs some 66,000 “cast members,” and overall the company operates more than half a dozen parks and cruise lines worldwide.
Career tracks include restaurant management, convention booking and even laundry operations management. In all these roles, “the common denominator is leadership,” said Kevin Preston, director of Disney’s veterans recruiting initiative.
For former service members looking to get into hospitality, Disney’s hiring program for veterans is one of a number of initiatives nationwide, including numerous degree and training programs.
All about service
The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University presents one starting point, with a bachelor’s degree offered alongside its Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans.
“Hospitality is about service, and military people understand service at the highest level,” said Senior Lecturer Neil Tarallo.
Courses include such topics as beverage management and introduction to wine, as well as business classes in finance and marketing. Students go on to a variety of hospitality managerial roles as well as jobs in finance and hospitality real estate.
The nature of the field seems to favor former troops, who often know how to think on their feet and can deal with interpersonal issues. “You are interacting with the client, customer or guest every minute you are on the job. You have to be at your best level despite how you may be feeling on any given day,” Tarallo said.
Staying power
In one novel partnership, hospitality school Kendall College is partnering with the Veterans Affairs Department and Hilton Worldwide to groom potential hospitality professionals. Veterans who complete the program get a hospitality certificate and credit toward a Kendall degree.
Hilton’s parent company, Blackstone, has committed to hiring 50,000 veterans across its portfolio over five years and already has brought 10,000 on board, it says.
Hilton likes vets for their staying power, said Rodney Moses, VP of global recruitment. “This is a high-turnover industry, and when veterans come in, they stay longer. They are a lot more loyal to their employer, if you can create the right opportunities for them.”
The program aims to produce supervisors, property managers and other high-level professionals. At VA, Senior Advisor for Veteran Employment Rosye Cloud describes hospitality as a strong potential fit for those finding their way after time in uniform.
“When you’re looking at the opportunities, across America, hospitality immediately jumps out because of the mobility and the readily transferable skills,” Cloud said.
A few more veteran-friendly hospitality programs nationwide:
Valiant Veterans offers an intensive six-week training program in areas such as property management and event management. The program includes practical hands-on training. www.valiantveterans.org
The nonprofit ServiceSource Delaware Regional Office has partnered with Embassy Suites and others to produce a “Heroes to Hospitality” program, which includes classroom training and hands-on experience.
The Louisiana Hospitality Foundation has donated $10,300 to help support the culinary training of 20 vets served by Volunteers of America at Fresh Food Factor. The program aims to launch hospitality careers for homeless veterans seeking to rebuild their lives.
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Back in the Magic Kingdom — and all its incarnations from Hong Kong to Paris to Shanghai — the veterans recruiting program has helped bring in some 4,000 workers since 2012, Preston said.
In addition to Disney-specific data, its veterans site — heroesworkhere.disney.com — offers more general coaching about the transition process, career information and case studies of successful veterans.
The project aims to help veterans in all phases of transition. But regardless of whether they eventually go to work for Mickey and friends, “we also want to bring the veteran one step closer to Disney, and Disney one step closer to the veteran.”
