USA | The restaurant industry has demonstrated the power of local collaboration in solving national workforce challenges.
The restaurant industry demonstrated a compelling blueprint for community-driven workforce solutions during the 2025 Hospitality Pathways Conference, hosted by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation late last week in Washington, D.C. Emphasising the career-building skills and pathways that the restaurant industry offers as America's second-largest private sector employer, the event convened more than 150 leaders from across the restaurant and hospitality industry, local government agencies, and community-based organisations to spotlight how cross-sector collaboration is transforming lives and building a future-ready restaurant workforce.
The third annual conference told the story of how the Foundation's restaurant workforce development initiatives, including Hospitality Opportunities for People (Re)Entering Society (HOPES) and Restaurant Ready, leverage state restaurant association partners and a network of community-based organisations and local government agencies to maximise impact. Both initiatives equip individuals from non-traditional education backgrounds – including people with justice involvement, opportunity youth, and people with disabilities – with the skills, certifications, and ongoing support to start and advance through a restaurant industry career.
"HOPES and Restaurant Ready are deeply rooted in the communities that restaurants serve, changing lives by equipping people of all backgrounds with the tools to enter our industry and build a future that works for them," said Michelle Korsmo, President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association and CEO of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
"Through the innovation of our state restaurant association partners and the collaboration of community and government stakeholders, programs like HOPES and Restaurant Ready are leading the way in building a future-ready restaurant workforce."
Over two days of workshops and storytelling, Hospitality Pathways Conference attendees explored best practices and tools in implementing a community collaborative model. The model is a hallmark of Restaurant Ready, which equips people with first-job skills through its network of state restaurant association partners and 87 community-based organisations.
Discussion and content also explored the unique level of public-private cooperation needed to bring justice-involved populations into restaurant industry careers through HOPES. The program, which engages people with a justice background through skill-based training, mentorship, and employment, is currently implemented across 20 state government partners that include local correction departments. This year, HOPES is expanding across 12 states, thanks to two new grants totalling USD 9.1 million from the U.S. Department of Labour. To-date, the initiative has impacted more than 1,200 people, with 85 percent of them receiving restaurant-specific occupational skills training and over 60 percent placed in employment roles.
"What makes HOPES unique is that it's community-based and community-focused," said Kenna M., a HOPES participant from Delaware.
"It goes into the trenches. It's aware of where the need is."
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