From left: Alexus Kalampalikis, ABA hub developer, ApprenticeshipNH; Charles Neild, workforce development manager, Manchester Community College; and Tracey Jackson, hub coordinator, ApprenticeshipNH. With the NH Food Bank are: Stacie Merrifield, culinary and nutrition programs director; Elsy Cipriani, executive director; Micheal Curley, culinary manager; and Shane Peznola, chef instructor. (Courtesy of ApprenticeshipNH)
ApprenticeshipNH, a workforce training program of the Community College System of NH, has partnered with Manchester Community College and the NH Food Bank to launch a one-year Preparation Cook Registered Apprenticeship Program to train workers for jobs in restaurants and commercial kitchens across the state.
The program, supported by grant funding from the U.S. Department of Labor, blends paid, on-the-job training with 144 hours of classroom instruction, all offered at the Food Bank’s production kitchen in Manchester. Apprentices will gain hands-on experience in kitchen operations, food preparation, food safety, inventory management and other essential culinary skills.
“What’s really special about this apprenticeship is that it was truly a collaborative effort,” says Tracey Jackson, regional hub coordinator for ApprenticeshipNH. “The idea originated with the New Hampshire Food Bank, which realized it could utilize the equipment and training space it already has while serving the hospitality industry and the clients it works with.”
After developing the concept, the NH Food Bank connected with Manchester Community College to build the academic component and then reached out to ApprenticeshipNH to formalize the program as a registered apprenticeship.
The NH Food Bank will act as the program sponsor, registering apprentices and managing the curriculum. Participating employers can sign on as partners, providing wages and on-the-job training without managing the administrative structure.
“That structure helps alleviate a lot of the heavy lifting on the front end for employers,” Jackson says. “Restaurants that want to participate can focus on training and mentoring workers while the program infrastructure is already in place.”
Organizers hope to start with a small cohort of about eight apprentices working across several participating restaurants. Conversations are already underway with hospitality businesses that have partnered with the Food Bank, with the goal of recruiting four to six restaurants for the initial rollout.
The apprenticeship is considered a pilot program and represents the first time this collaborative model has been implemented in NH’s hospitality sector. Jackson says the effort comes as restaurants continue to face workforce shortages and high turnover. “What we’ve found is that there’s a high turnover rate and not always a clear pathway for training and growth in this field,” Jackson says. “Employers want to build a pipeline and develop their workforce, but many don’t have the resources to do it on their own.” For more information, visit apprenticeshipnh.com or nhfoodbank.org.
