According to the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), high-school students involved in CTE are more engaged, perform better and graduate at higher rates. This proves true in the restaurant industry, with the NRAEF’s research finding that 81% of students who complete the ProStart program are still studying and/or working in the industry five years later. Our data also indicates that a majority of restaurant-sector employees across all ages and job titles believe the industry provides good long-term career opportunities.

With total restaurant and foodservice employment projected to grow by 11% over the next decade, CTE programs such as ProStart play a critical role in cultivating a skilled, talented workforce for our industry. This year, the NRAEF will implement a comprehensive evaluation of ProStart to help us set clear goals for program effectiveness as we look toward the future. We plan to develop additional training programs to engage new audiences that extend beyond the high-school classroom.

In addition, the NRAEF has recently become more active in the national discussion surrounding the need for and importance of CTE.  As members of the CTE community, we all should work to strengthen relationships with key influencers and policymakers at the state and national levels and underscore how programs such as ProStart are making a critical difference in creating opportunity.

Through ProStart, the NRAEF is committed to raising awareness of the myriad opportunities for employment and advancement in the foodservice industry. By talking to our current students, educators and alumni, as well as analyzing where we’ve been and where we want to go, we are confident that the NRAEF and ProStart will continue to play a vital role as a leader in CTE.

For more information about the NRAEF and ProStart, visit www.nraef.org.

Rob Gifford is executive vice president of strategic operations and philanthropy for the Washington, D.C.-based National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.