Dining Services Fills All Positions

Jul 21, 2009

CONCORDIA DINING SERVICES FILLS ALL POSITIONS
BEFORE ACADEMIC YEAR BEGINS

Wroking 

A sign of the times, all of the approximately 500 student positions for the next academic year in Concordia College Dining Services are filled. In the past, many shifts remained open throughout the semester. In 2007 Dining Services began the fall semester with only 75% of the student shifts filled. With over 70 positions open, Concordia had to supplement staffing with managers, full-time staff and temporary workers.

Paul Dosch, assistant director of Dining Services, attributes the full staff to the downturn in the economy, rising costs of higher education and rising perceptions of working in dining. In the past, many students accepted off-campus food and beverage positions but now staying on campus is the more popular choice. Working on campus allows employees to meet other students, advance to student management positions, have academic breaks off and earn competitive wages.

Dosch expects a small percentage of new student employees to resign their positions in the fall because of school load or because the student decided to take a different position. Nearly thirty students are currently on a waiting list to secure a position.

“We haven’t seen such a high student demand to work in Dining Services for almost a decade. Our new facilities and great service have brought in more customers than ever before and now that’s extending even further and more students than ever before want to work with us,” said Dosch.

Dining Services has been working hard over the past few years to retain student employees. Education and training opportunities, incentive programs, award opportunities and student appreciation events have aided in retaining enough student workers to fill 75 percent of the available shifts for fall 2009. The other 25 percent were filled by incoming freshmen.

During the 2008-09 academic year 23 percent of Concordia students held a job in Dining Services. According to the U.S. Department of Labor in 2006 7.4 million jobs were in the food and beverage industry.
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