As the state partner for the National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce has expanded its educational resources for the restaurant and lodging industry. Tourism professionals now have access to more than seven complimentary professional development offerings.

Educational opportunities include:

• Two free ServSafe training videos are available, designed to reinforce practices to keep food and employees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. These free courses are available through the end of April.
• The ServSafe Food Handler online training program is available for free through April for those who wish to attain the certificate or refresh their knowledge. This course must be uploaded to a student’s profile no later than April 30th. The student will have one year to launch the course and 60 days after launch to complete it.
• The ServSuccess online learning suite, which offers courses, interactive study guides, and professional certification exams, is free through April. This program is designed to enhance the knowledge and abilities of working industry professionals. This course must be uploaded to a student’s profile no later than April 30th. The student will have one year to launch the course and 90 days after launch to complete it.
• The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute’s professional development courses are available free of charge through April. These offerings are suitable for all hotel level employees and can help them take their hospitality career to the next level. Students must enroll no later than April 30th. Once enrolled, the student has 90 days to access the material for the AHLEI training.

ServSafe has been the industry standard for food and alcohol safety training and certification for 30 years. Hospitality organizations and schools rely on AHLEI for quality resources to train, educate, and certify hospitality professionals.

Describing the expanded offerings, Vermont Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Tourism Amy Spear said, “Vermont and the nation are in the midst of an unprecedented public health emergency, with significant stress being placed on the tourism industry. The Vermont Chamber is committed to helping the state’s restaurants and lodging properties recover and strengthening the tourism industry.”

The Vermont Chamber will continue to work with hospitality sector associations to provide resources for tourism industry employees and will advocate for measures that help Vermont businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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