JOIN US ONLINE: 'WE ARE OHI' WEBSITE IS LIVE!

We at the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association (ORHMA) have made workforce our top agenda item in a big way over the last couple of years and today we are pleased to announce that the OHI - We are Hospitality website has gone live.

In 2019, ORHMA became the custodians of OHI (Ontario Hostelry Institute) a

nd we are proud to bring the OHI We Are Hospitality front and centre of ORHMA's workforce initiatives. We are bursting and rolling out the carpet waiting for you to get involved and engage students and let's show hospitality as the best industry to work in. We know we work in the best industry out there and now it's time to strut our stuff!

We are now ready with the launch of www.WeAreOHI.ca to amplify the message that

WE ARE HOSPITALITY and we are here to engage youth, network, share videos and share your hospitality journey. Explore some of the opportunities for you to get involved and make a difference and a hospitality impact.

www.WeAreOHI.ca

What's Your Story?

Share Your Story and your hospitality journey by answering a few questions, send us your photo and give students, parents and teachers the opportunity to read and be inspired by your story.

What's Your Story?

Hospitality Coach Mentorship Program

The Hospitality Coach Mentorship Program is where we have hospitality ambassadors that will be mentors to youth expressing interest to work in hospitality and tourism. We will start promoting our precious industry to students as early as grade 6 and be in front of elementary students who are in grades 6-8.

Consider being a hospitality coach in your community to speak to students either virtually or in person at an elementary school, high school or college. Share your story with students and help answer some of the hospitality questions they have. We want all students and their parents to know that there's a home for everyone in hospitality and we want to ensure that students know that we are here waiting for them with open arms.



Sign Up to be a Hospitality Coach

Be Our Guest

The Be Our Guest Program was founded by the one and only Hani Roustom, President of Friday Harbour, and currently supported by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), George Brown College and Toronto area hotels & convention centre. This program aims to provide students with experiential insight into the vibrant world of hospitality. High school students receive a co-op placement and a job shadowing rotation. This experience provides them with insights into ‘what they want to do when they grow up’.

The Be Our Guest program has blown up and we are now in discussions about expanding this program into Simcoe Region, Peel, Windsor Essex and York Region school boards. The program is expanding opportunities for high school students in not only the accommodation sector but the foodservice sector as well.

Be Our Guest Program

Social Media

We are active on various social media platforms so we are present where the youth are with Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter. We will be conducting live tours of your establishments through Instagram and record them for our Live Tours Library. These virtual tours will showcase front of house and back of house tours. Students and teachers will then have access to a library of live hospitality tours that they can encorporate into their lesson plans and discussions with students. Follow us @weareohi .

..... and so much more - WE ARE BURSTING!

• Development of fresh creative on what it means to work in hospitality. We will be showcasing and highlighting the perks and benefits of working in our industry and how we accommodate and appeal to youth as a diverse and inclusive sector.

• Videos showcasing career paths, ‘Home in Hospitality’ campaign, career ladders, hospitality journey, spotlights and others. These video stories of individual career successes will be used for communication to Ontario schools and students. Share your videos with us at info@WeAreOHI.ca and will include them.

• We need to Tell Our Story to high school students and their parents. Parents, guidance counsellors and hospitality school staff will receive toolkits highlighting some of the new creative that promotes hospitality as a viable and successful career. We want parents to understand that there are successful careers to be had in hospitality and we will include Parents Night Outs where we will provide information directly to parents.

• OHI will take a lead in benchmarking industry standards of service, support and best practices and be mentors of excellence for our youth. Workforce does not end with hiring as it also encompasses with retention and development. We will provide resources around development, leadership and coaching for our existing staff to further fill the pipeline with talent and growth.

• OHI will develop and advance Student Hospitality Hubs across Ontario. This will enable a champion approach in promoting and managing engagement into activities and industry events.

• Catalogue of resources to inspire students to work in hospitality with fun, rewarding path development, multi-choice of career options including opportunity in crossing to related job paths
  

There is a lot of strength in unity and it is with this unity in OHI that we will make a difference. We need to make a difference and help the youth of today for positive impact and change in our sector. Together.

No matter the challenge, we at ORHMA have not and will not remain idle. We are flexing our workforce arm to drive change and growth back into hospitality. We will keep you informed on participation as we have already received an overwhelming response with anxious operators like you who want to roll up their sleeves and get their feet wet.

We want to preserve and grow what brought many of us to hospitality in the first place. We are committed to tackle workforce collectively to preserve the integrity and spirit of our precious hospitality industry. We remain at your service and can be reached at info@WeAreOHI.com and welcome the opportunity to have conversations directly with you.

We thank you for all that you do in the name of hospitality and we will continue to keep you updated.

Now …. Let’s get ready to make some noise!!!