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Business ‘‘The industry is growing in leaps and bounds. and 1 want to be a part of it."" Beninger said. "This provides me with valuable ‘handsâ€"on‘ experience in all facets of ; the business." For the next month Beninger will gain practical exâ€" perience in bartending, ordering. menu pricing, stock control. cooking. and receiving. f Beninger worked at a . restaurant while attending high school in Belleville and spent four years as a salesman for Weston Bakeries Ltd.. before deciding to become a part of the hospitality industry. â€" s Beninger. a secondâ€"year student in the food and beâ€" verage course at the Waterloo campus of Conestoga College. is spending a month ‘on the job" at the Ali Baba Steakhouse in Waterioo. Paul Oschefski. manager of the restaurant. believes such training periods provide faculty and students an opportunity to tailor the course to what‘s practical in the industry. **We want students to work in the industry while atâ€" tending the course so they won‘t be disillusioned when they graduate."" Oschefski said. We don‘t want them to think they‘ll be top dog when they graduate. They should know that they‘ll have to work their way up." He said placement rose 2.9 per cent over the preâ€" vious year and of the 9%.9 per cent placed. 93.5 per cent were in jobs directly related to their college courses, an increase of 9.5 per cent. Hunter said he has heard that placement at other community colleges is also up â€" with rates ranging between 87 and 93 per cent â€" but said he doesn‘t have statistics available on how Conestoga stacked up against other Ontario colleges. The leap of about 10 per cent in related employment is a significant statistic‘, according to Patricia *‘The industry is wide open and I want to get a comâ€" plete overview of it before 1 decide where 1 want to specialize."" he said. * Student finds food business ‘wideâ€"open‘ Working in the hospitality industry is not a new exâ€" perience for Rob Beninger of Bellevilie. but he admits there is much more tolearn than meets the eve: He said statistics show that 96.9 per cent of students seeking jobs in the 1978â€"79 school year found employâ€" ment, most in their cho§en field. ‘‘The results we have attained are very gratifying to us."" Hunter said. > Kenneth Hunter, president of Conestoga College, said he was pleased with placement figures released last week because they show the fundamental thrust of the college â€" encouraging students and graduates to help themselves""â€" is working. And he has the staâ€" tistics to prove it. The hospitality program at the Waterioo campus of Conestoga College has a realistic dining room to provide students with practical experience in the food service industry. Students wait on custâ€" omers and serve food prepared in the college‘s kitchen. Seated at table (left to right) Marj Komer, food preparation and dining room instructor; Gary Williams, institutional food and beverage inâ€" structor; Elizabeth Esenbergs, program coâ€"ordinator; Ted Kopuc, bartending instructor and Otto Konig, dining room instructor are served by firstâ€"year student Mary McLaughlin. Selfâ€"help theory successful Conestoga president says Carter said the highest percentages occurred in apâ€" plied arts and health sciences, which saw an increase of 10.3 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. While only 77 per cent of graduates in the nursing program found employment, the figure was still a large increase over the previous year when 55 per cent were employed, according to Carter. She said the college graduated 653 students in 1978â€" 79 â€" 165 in applied arts, 165 in business, 184 in health sciences and 139 in technology â€" and of that number, 584 wereâ€"actively looking for employment. The other 69 were not seeking employment due to pregnancy. travelling or enrolling in other courses to further their education. Conestoga graduates, in all fields, got an average starting salary of $11,290, Carter said. * Carter attributed the success of Conestoga‘s placeâ€" ment figures to ‘"continual input from faculty" and a ‘higher profile with local employers." Carter, Conestoga‘s manager of cellege and comâ€" munity relations. Rob Beninger, a secondâ€"year student in the food and beverage course at the Waterioo campus of Conestoga College (behind bar), gets bartending advice from Paul Oschefski, manager of the Ali Baba Steakhouse in Waterloo. Beninger will gain practical ‘handsâ€"on‘ experience in ordering, barâ€" tending, menu pricing and cooking during his monthâ€"long stint at the restaurant. Food industry demand sparks â€" college program Stories and photos by Stewart Sutherland The college‘s Waterioo campus set up a group of courses under the umbrella title of hospitality proâ€" grams, with the goal of producing nearly 200 fullyâ€" qualified graduates each year. â€" Elizabeth Esenbergs, program coâ€"ordinator, said the hospitality program includes courses on food and beverage management, dining room service, basic food preparation and barâ€"tending. The food and beverage management course focuses on training students to meet management manpower needs, according to Esenbergs. ‘‘This twoâ€"year diploma course provides the opporâ€" tunity for enthusiastic. energetic young people with experience in the industry and a chance to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to enter food service management,"" Esenbergs said. She said it involves a combination of practical courâ€" ses, food preparation, dining room service and mixoâ€" The association said that nearly 35 per cent of the Canadian food dollar was spent by people dining away from home last year, and expects a 5 per cent inâ€" crease this year. A The industry is a major employer of women, young adults, teenagers and has an employment rate of 4.5 per cent of the employed labor force, according to the association‘s report. Last year Conestoga College saw the need to train potential employees in all aspects of the industry, right from waiting on tables to managing a resâ€" taurant. * Food and beverage sales for 1979 were estimated to be in the neighborhood of $10.3â€"billion and projected sales for 1980 are expected to reach an allâ€"time high of $12â€"billion, according to a recent report from the Canâ€" adian Restaurant and Food Services Association. Waterioo Chronicie, Wednesday, March 5, 1980 â€" Page 9 (Continued on page 11})