Food Services ESP — 
Building a Quality Workforce

Meaningful Training = Quality Workforce

Professional Development for Food Services ESP

As stated throughout this Web site, skills training and professional development are vital components of building a quality workforce. Professional development for Food Services ESP is clearly necessary and connected to enhanced student achievement. Indeed, all employees should have meaningful opportunities to be lifelong learners.

Unfortunately for many Food Services employees, some administrations continue to ignore the obvious. This lack of meaningful training and professional development in many school districts ignores the importance of Food Service Workers in the school's learning and nurturing environment. It ignores the importance of good nutrition as a prerequisite to a student's disposition to learn and his/her ability to achieve academically.

Too many supervisors, administrators, and communities think that Food Services ESP just cook, so little thought is given to career-enhancing professional development programs.

Meaningful training for Food Services ESP can be defined as:

• New employee orientation programs
• In-service training programs
• Relevant and current skills set training
• Career-enhancing professional development programs

Mentoring Programs

Food Services ESP have a challenging and comprehensive profession that becomes more demanding and complex every year. Every aspect of what a Food Services employee does increases in dimension with every change and shift in our community environments.

Remaining current and informed is difficult at best, and almost impossible given the lack of respect and recognition by those in charge, to provide relevant and appropriate programs for Food Services employees.

An effective method used by teachers in public schools for many years is peer mentoring. Mentoring provides a place for employees to reach out for advice, support, information, and training.

A mentoring program developed and established by the Local Association for food services professionals enhances opportunities and protection for employees and contributes to a results-oriented environment. It can also raise the attention level of administrations in order to engage them in providing ongoing training and professional development for Food Services ESP.

You Are the Local Expert: Local Talent/Local Training

When developing training and information programs, never overlook the special expertise already present among Food Services employees themselves. Most Food Services ESP are residents of the districts in which they work and have special skills, abilities and connections in their communities that make them particularly valuable and relevant in local training programs.

ESPs not only understand the community and school district, they live in it, work in it, and vote in it! They are the firefighters, club members, parents, taxpayers, EMTs and local volunteers. Local leaders should be aware of this expertise. How many are EMTs? Who are the volunteer firefighters? Who is a member of the town council? How many speak more that one language? How many have been elected to local government committees or boards? How many have served in the military and have training? How many volunteer at the community hospital? Who has a spouse who is a police officer, etc.?

These special resources are a unique and valuable part of the Food Services Quality Workforce. The Food Services ESP is the "local expert." He/she has the local talent and should participate in the development and implementation of local training.