Training The Next Generation Of Restaurant Workers

As restaurants across the country grapple with a lingering labour shortage, savvy employers are looking to the next generation to staff their eateries. Luring Gen Z through the doors could be the answer to your staffing shortfall…but only if you know how to train them effectively.

Employers need to refine their training tactics to cater to this cohort - defined by Statistics Canada as those born between 1997 and 2012 - if they want to attract and retain talent. This will mean providing more tech-enabled options, self-paced learning, career-oriented development, and more. 

What Do Gen Z Workers Want?

Everyone is an individual, of course, but there are some common characteristics across Gen Z that can help employers figure out how to train them.

They’re very comfortable with technology

This is the generation that grew up with smartphones. They don’t know a world without wifi and they’re stuck to their screens. This makes them extremely competent and confident with digital tools. Your Gen Z workers don’t just want technology in their training, they expect it. If you’re not offering online training with the latest tech tools, you run the risk of losing employees to competitors that do.

They’re ambitious

Gen Z are forward-looking. They want career opportunities and job security while they explore them. Employers who open doors for them within their businesses will be rewarded with their loyalty as these twenty-somethings place a high value on job satisfaction and fulfillment.

They’re socially-engaged

According to a recent survey from Deloitte, over 75% of zoomers want to work at organizations whose values align with their own. You might think this doesn’t really apply in the restaurant trade, but every company has a culture and prioritizing issues like diversity and equality will appeal to Gen Z’s keen social conscience. 

They like to learn at their own pace

Fiercely independent, Gen Z likes to control their own professional development. They prefer to learn online, amassing skills as they need and want them. Letting them pick their own training times, courses, and pace of progress is key to keeping them engaged.

Futureproof Your Training 

Experts in food safety, FoodSafetyMarket can help you train Gen Z workers in a way that meets all their needs, as well as your own. Our virtual campus provides a range of online courses that can be delivered either through your company’s own Learning Management System or hosted by us. Either way, the cutting-edge portal is easy to use, completely secure, and fully digital so trainees can learn anywhere, any time - all they need is an internet connection!

FoodSafetyMarket offers:

• A comprehensive course catalog, including WHMIS Certification, the nationally-accredited food handler certification course Managing Food Safely, and a variety of work skills.
• Micro-learning bundles consisting of short lessons that touch on soft skills and aspects of workplace culture. These cover topics such as diversity and inclusion, employee wellbeing, and leadership training.
• Self-paced learning so workers can have complete control over how and when they complete the modules and take their exam.
• Interactive lessons and digital certification.

Developed by industry experts, FoodSafetyMarket’s courses combine decades of experience and knowledge with modern-day tools to reach Gen Z workers where they’re at. Contact our team today to get started!