GRANTS, N.M. – Hospitable Grants wants you. The paid hospitality training program sponsored by Grants Main-Street Project is seeking employed and unemployed residents with a desire to join the hospitality industry and gain new skills to prepare them to be ambassadors for Cibola County. “We can train fifteen people max,” Will Yarborough said. As Executive Director of Grants MainStreet Project, Yarborough will be leading parts of the 12week training that will take place at the Grants Public Library. According to Yarborough, the program seeks to educate people about the cultural and geographical assets that surround the city of Grants as well as train folks in communication skills so they can offer great customer service to tourists and locals seeking information about the many surrounding beautiful places of interest.
According to Yarborough, participants will be trained in Customer Service 101, Guest Management, and Good Hygiene among many other classes that will take place every Wednesday from 9 am to 10 am. The classes will be divided in half with thirty minutes devoted to an online program and the remaining thirty minutes for face-to-face interactions led by Yarborough who said he would also take the training. The face-toface portion of the training will focus on communication skills and give participants the opportunity to role play and learn how to engage strangers in a conversation. “Teaching folks how to get out of their shells if they’re shy,” Yarborough said.
Business owners in Cibola County and around the country struggle to find quality employees that they can trust and who are worth investing months or years of training into. The idea behind the grant-funded program is to hopefully supply a local business with a welltrained individual who has a genuine interest in learning new skills and improving old ones. The businesses that employ a graduate from the program will be awarded $3,000.00 to assist with paying a new hire. The participants who successfully complete the full 12week program can earn up to $1,000. To be eligible for Hospitable Grants, an individual must be over 18 and must be employed by a locally-owned business and NOT be employed by a franchise. This last requirement may make it challenging for many would be applicants, but the ultimate goal of the program is to help local small business owners who lack corporate support. Deadline for applications is 4/26. The program begins May 10 and graduation will be held on August 9. To apply, call 505-658-2450.