Washington | On February 1, 2008, hoteliers across the country will introduce high school students to more than 200 diverse industry job opportunities via National Groundhog Job Shadow Day. Sponsored within the lodging community by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), this national program allows school-aged children to ‘shadow’ hospitality professionals’ daily work experiences, familiarizing themselves with the wide array of job opportunities within the industry.

A typical Groundhog Job Shadow Day entails hosting between five and 20 high school students at a hotel property or corporate headquarters for a "back-of-the-house" tour, providing a hands-on view of guest service, food & beverage, housekeeping, accounting, marketing, and other operations. Each student follows a staff mentor, including hotel owners, CEOs, general managers, security directors, executive chefs, concierge staff, and event planners, through a typical work day. Students participate in daily functions, gaining hands-on exposure to the wide array of professions in the lodging industry, and receive a certificate upon completion.

As the nation’s third-largest industry employing approximately 1.8 million hotel property workers*, AH&LA recognizes the need to educate tomorrow’s growing workforce, which will require more than 700,000 additional workers by 2010. AH&LA and partner state associations and member properties from Rhode Island to Hawaii – and various locations in between – which have already committed participation are listed on the AH&LA website at http://www.ahla.com/products_gjsd.asp.

“AH&LA is proud to support this initiative and actively engage our industry’s future talent by offering and promoting a multitude of opportunities for professional success,” said AH&LA President/CEO Joseph A. McInerney, CHA. “With the hospitality workforce opening up so many diverse positions within the next few years, our goal is to familiarize and interest tomorrow’s leaders in the many ways they can enter our field.”

National Groundhog Job Shadow Day is a coordinated effort of America’s Promise, Junior Achievement, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Labor. In addition to lodging industry participation, approximately 100,000 other businesses and organizations also host students during this career development initiative.

For additional information on AH&LA’s participation in the event, visit www.ahla.com, or contact Jessica Soklow, manager of media relations at (202) 289-3153 or jsoklow@ahla.com.