Wake County job fair tries to fill 3,500 positions at hotels and restaurants

Wake County's booming restaurant and hotel industry has one difficulty: not enough employees. To help connect businesses and prospective workers, the Raleigh Convention Center is hosting the first ever Wake County Restaurant and Hotel Job Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 28. Nearly 80 employers will be participating in an effort to fill more than 3,500 full and part time jobs.

"There's definitely a shortage of labor," said Niall Hanley, the owner of Hibernian Hospitality Group, whose restaurants and bars include the Hibernian Pub, The Station, Watts & Ward and The Raleigh Beer Garden. "People move on. College happens. It ebbs and flows with the different times of year," Hanley said.

Wake County's hospitality and tourism industry has grown by 800 jobs every year since 2009, and is expected to grow by 9 percent over the next five years, said Dennis Edwards, president and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. Raleigh alone, has seen the leisure and hospitality industry grow by almost 50 percent over the past decade.

A wide range of positions are available from house keeping and maintenance to general managers. Hanley said he will be looking to fill a variety of jobs, including servers, hosts, bartenders, line cooks and dish runners. "You name it we're looking," Hanley said.

The average annual earnings for jobs in the accommodation and food service industry in Wake County is $20,286, said Scott Peacock, director of public relations for the visitor's bureau.

The job fair is sponsored by the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, Capital Area Workforce Development, North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association and the Raleigh Convention Center.

For more information on the job fair go to VisitRaleigh.com/JobFair

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Wake County job fair tries to fill 3,500 positions at hotels and restaurants."