Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and the University of South Alabama (USA) will host the 4th annual Hospitality & Tourism Workforce Summit on March 10-11 at the Hospitality Resort Management Center on the Jefferson Davis Campus.

Summit 2020 is themed “Through the Looking Glass: A Futuristic Outlook on Hospitality & Tourism Workforce” and will focus on industry trends and technologies that will affect change in workforce competencies, talent recruitment, training and development, and workforce retention and sustainability in the Gulf Coast region.

More than 200 casino and hospitality executives and director-level workers are expected to attend the event, which includes customer service certification through USA; a keynote address by Laura Lee, senior vice president of Human Resources for MGC Resorts International, Las Vegas; a variety of breakout sessions; a bus tour of the Mississippi Gulf Coast; panel sessions on hospitality and tourism trends, future outlooks, workforce needs and the impact of artificial intelligence on service, security and surveillance.

In addition, there will be a culinary showcase presented by high school students paired with community college students and professional chefs.  Lisa Bradley, director of Business Development and Hospitality & Resort Management at MGCCC, said that MGCCC’s Culinary Arts Technology and other Hospitality students will be joined by 10 high school and community college culinary teams from Mississippi and Alabama in utilizing the HRM’s state-of-the-art kitchens and working with professional chefs from casinos.

“The Summit represents a great opportunity for MGCCC to entertain the Hospitality community in our HRM and it gives our students an opportunity to meet with leaders in the industry,” said Bradley. “Allen Godfrey, the Mississippi Commissioner of Gaming, and Larry Gregory, executive director of Mississippi Gaming Association will both be in attendance as well as a wide variety of other industry leaders.”

For more information on the Hospitality & Tourism Workforce Summit, visit https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/ceps/htm/summit/.