plus 1, Food jobs hire better educated workers - Dayton Daily News

Food jobs hire better educated workers - Dayton Daily News

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 05:53 PM PST

By Randy Tucker and Dave Larsen, Staff Writers Updated 12:58 AM Sunday, November 28, 2010

DAYTON — Miami Valley restaurant operators are seeking more educated workers in a growing and increasingly sophisticated industry.

But there's a catch: The majority of the jobs are still part-time and offer lower pay and fewer benefits than positions in other fields.

With unemployment remaining stubbornly high — over 12 percent locally — and job growth anemic in many other industries, more white-collar workers are seeking restaurant jobs as a career change.

Many people "were in positions that just left this community," said Deb Norris, vice president of workforce development and corporate services at Sinclair Community College, where more students are enrolling in hospitality management and culinary arts.

The jobs available aren't necessarily entry-level. Some positions, such as chefs, head cooks, food preparation and serving supervisors, require skills unexperienced restaurant workers typically don't offer.

Meanwhile, local restaurateurs say business is picking up. "We see a lot more people eating out,'' said Luigi "Louie" Sallaku, restaurant manager at Palermo's in Kettering. "We can't hire enough cooks.''

In addition to culinary skills, Sallaku values strong communication and teamwork skills. He also needs workers with accounting and management experience.

More than half a million Ohioans work in the food industry. And unlike many industries, the number is projected to grow.

"I'm seeing a lot of college students coming in with degrees who just can't find jobs in their degree,'' said Sean Wiseman, general manager at Champps Restaurant and Bar in Washington Twp.

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Former Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski sacrificed career for Jets job, now he's in the UFL - New York Daily News

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 03:58 PM PST

OMAHA, Neb. - It's 74 degrees and windy, an unseasonably warm early November day, and the grass at The Kroc, a Salvation Army Community Center set across from a crane erection company, is browning into a shade that best resembles hay. The sprinklers have been turned off for the season, and the field, though lined for football, is actually a youth soccer facility that was converted to host the Omaha Nighthawks of the fledgling United Football League. Mini-dust clouds kick up each time a tailback blows through a hole.

Coach Jeff Jagodzinski wears two days' growth of facial hair and a black team-issued baseball cap as he works with the offensive line.

Across the field is one-time Ohio State tailback phenom Maurice Clarett, fresh out of jail and now a special teams player.

Talking to a friend by the sideline fence is Ahman Green, the Green Bay Packers' all-time leading rusher and four-time Pro Bowl tailback.

This is all an upgrade. Earlier in the season, yellow school buses shuttled the players to and from public parks in the city.

"We've practiced at seven different spots," Jagodzinski says, "I used to say, 'Have Field, Will Travel'".

It is home for now. In mid-August, Jagodzinski stood at the front of a ballroom at the Holiday Inn where the players are put up by the organization, and addressed his new unit during the first gathering of the 52 players and coaching staff as a franchise.

"Raise your hand if you thought you would be in Omaha this year," Jagodzinski said, his folksy, Milwaukeean inflection bouncing off the faces seated before him.

He surveyed the room. No one moved. He lifted his right arm in the air.

"Well, I know I sure didn't," he said.

Coaching is a fraternity forever in flux, but the fates were particularly unforgiving with him. Jagodzinski, 47, was fired twice in the previous 20 months: with cause from Boston College for insubordination, then for imprecision as offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a long, hard tumble from approaching his profession's top.

"There are only two types of coaches," Jagodzinski says, "those who have been fired and those who will be."

In two years at BC, he led the Eagles to 20 wins and back-to-back ACC title games, drawing interest from two BCS-level schools, one in the Pac-10, the other in the SEC, about their openings then. He declined both, but interviewed for the Jets' head job despite being told it would result in termination. Cautioned by his staff and others that there was no guarantee of getting the Jets' job, he told them his dream was to be a head coach in the NFL. Even the Jets asked him why he would put his career at risk, according to Jagodzinski. Athletic director Gene DeFilippo dismissed him in person the next day.