New Santa Rosa Junior College classes aim to help underserved

Ilaisa Nailoata cared for the same elderly man for four years. When his patient died this summer, the in-home caregiver not only wrestled with the stress of losing someone he’d formed a close bond with, but also having to find a new job.

Nailoata, who also works on-call at an assisted living facility, now wants to return to hospitality, an industry he worked in before leaving his native Fiji eight years ago. The Petaluma resident is doing so with the help of a new program geared at providing free career and job training for traditionally underserved residents and meeting the workforce needs in Sonoma County, where the number of hospitality and tourism job openings this past year nearly doubled. There were 1,800 job openings in that sector between June 2015 and the end of May 2016, according to county officials.

Santa Rosa Junior College partnered with the Sonoma County Office of Education and local school districts to offer courses in hospitality, green landscaping and business after receiving a $2 million adult education grant from the state. The weekslong courses teach adults the necessary skills to work in those fields and help them be more competitive when applying for new jobs and promotions, said Lucy Hernandez, the college’s adult education coordinator.

“A lot of employers cannot find the right talent,” she said.

Hernandez said they hope to boost the number of skilled workers through the program. She’s reached out to local businesses and industry leaders to determine what classes are needed.

Nailoata was one of 20 adults to sign up for the 26-hour hospitality course, which kicked off June 1 at McDowell Elementary School in Petaluma. He said he enrolled in the class to brush up on his tourism, hospitality and customer service skills and to stand out when applying for jobs.

“I’d like to add more to the resume,” said the 40-year-old Nailoata, who planned to receive a food handler’s certificate and a Sonoma County Tourism Ambassador designation through the course. “I hope some hotel hires me.”

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the county, providing more than 19,700 jobs.

These kinds of courses could benefit students like Nailoata, said Sherry Alderman, director of the Sonoma County Workforce Investment Board. “It shows that person is going above and beyond to do something to make them more employable,” she said.

It also benefits residents to make the courses short. Most of the classes meet a couple times a week over the course of about a month.

“Most people who are in the job market don’t have the ability to be in a year (or) two-year course. They need the money,” Alderman said.

Nailoata’s final class was held on Wednesday. Instructors Catherine Crotty and Neil Pacheco, who also works as a casino host, spent the evening reviewing the golden rules of hospitality. Crotty asked the students what to do if they had a customer complaint. Nailoata immediately responded: “Listen. Apologize.”

Pacheco shifted between English and Spanish while addressing other students. He reminded them to go the extra mile, treating colleagues like “guests” and stepping in to help when they fall behind. “The reward will come back to you,” he told the students, mostly Latino and English-language learners hoping to move up in their jobs.

The skills students learn are transferable, Crotty said. They can be applied to other industries. Students also get to learn English while learning about hospitality, she said.

While hospitality is an integral part of the local economy, not all businesses do it well, Pacheco said. His mission is to elevate customer service in Sonoma County, including in the Latino community.

“It’s extremely important to me that our Latino people have both the skills and ability so they can be able to get a better job and continue to grow in the industry,” said Pacheco, who started in the industry nearly two decades ago as a dishwasher and worked his way up to busboy, server and management before becoming a Graton Casino host.

Good customer service means more money for both employees and employers. The county also benefits, Pacheco said.

“More people will come to the county because the people are more hospitable and friendly,” he said.

Claudia Avila, who works as a private-caregiver and a server at two Mexican restaurants, joined Pacheco’s class to improve her customer-service skills. Avila, 36, of Petaluma, said the class boosted her confidence. It’s also encouraged her to return to school. She’s looking into medical assistant or X-ray technician courses.

“I didn’t think I was a school person,” she said. “This opened my mind.”

That’s part of the goal, Hernandez said. The program is aimed at providing workforce training for these underserved populations but also encouraging them to return to school and pursue higher education, said Hernandez, who earlier this spring helped lead the green landscaping course.

She teamed up with the Graton Day Labor Center to teach immigrants about organic and drought-tolerant planting in Santa Rosa. Hernandez said it was the first class the consortium rolled out, drawing about two dozen students, who also received certifications in basic safety training and forklift operations. Those students are expected to return this summer for a course in irrigation, Hernandez said.

She said they’ll soon be rolling out a community health clinic medical assistance course, as well as a culinary arts class in Sonoma Valley. As they roll out new classes, she added, they’ll be focusing on southwest Santa Rosa, Sonoma Valley and North County, areas with among the highest income and education disparities in the county.

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com.