Video Recorded Before COVID-19

Louie Shapiro works for 1 Hotel Central Park. They have two locations in New York City.

“Even though we’re in one of the greatest cities on the face of the earth, New York, it’s still hard to find great talent—especially in the hotel industry, restaurants.”

So, Louie hits the streets looking to hire the best folks possible. He says, “To find the right people for the team and culture you have to get out there proactively and look and search for candidates. And one of the great training organizations is the Job Corps here in Brooklyn.”

“We hired eight or nine externs, and seven of them stayed on full time. And some of those folks have gone into supervisor positions and chef positions. So, I’ve had great success with the Job Corps program.”

He says students get excellent training through Job Corps, and he’s especially grateful for the energy the young graduates bring to his team.

“You know, it’s good to be around bright-eyed, bushy-tailed folks that are still excited. Everyone is excited about what they do, especially in hospitality, don’t get me wrong. But, when you’re more junior and younger, you really just love what you do; it shows. And I think that energy comes off of them, and it’s contagious in a good way. And that spreads with the team too. Our team at 1 Hotel Central Park really embraces learning and growing and really being someone that always evolves and develops themselves to become better. When folks come in that need the training and they want to be taught, our team is very receptive to that…If you love culinary arts or if you love the hotel business, your love and passion for the industry will get you a long way in your career.”