Battle over talent continues as Strip recovers from downturn

Shani Coleman, director of community and economic development for Clark County, said more than 40,000 positions have gone unfilled since casinos reopened after a temporary state-mandated closure in 2020.

Some former Strip employees moved out of the area after the onset of the pandemic while others sought new career paths or went back to school.

“We need to provide more skilled workforce,” said Ana Puljic, executive director of student services at the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas. “It’s a talent war right now,” she said. “It’s been a challenge getting enough people who want these types of jobs.”

During the past two months, numerous job fairs have been hosted by resort companies in Las Vegas, including Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, the Palms, the Strat and Treasure Island.
During a one-day job fair Feb. 24 in Las Vegas, Caesars had a goal of hiring 500 people on the spot, a company spokeswoman said.

Today at the Culinary Academy, which trains students in food and beverage preparation, housekeeping and for other front-of-house and back-of-house work, MGM had representatives on site for a daylong job fair.

“Getting feedback from our employer partners, there’s a combination of reasons why so many positions are open,” Puljic said. “This is a job-seekers market. Students graduating from the Culinary Academy are going for good-paying jobs. These are Culinary Workers Union and Bartenders Union (Local 165) jobs with a benefits package, pension and paid lunch.”

Even for housekeeping positions, resort companies are paying at least $20 per hour now, along with sign-on and stay-on bonuses,Puljic said.

After touring the academy campus in North Las Vegas for about 20 minutes Tuesday, Gov. Steve Sisolak acknowledged the employment gap on the Strip.
“In the culinary field, we have a problem in that we still have some unemployed people,” Sisolak said. “We’re trying to match employees into job openings. We need to get more people trained and into the hotels. At some hotels, they’ve changed policy and gone to cleaning rooms every second or third day, which is something different.”

Sisolak said part of the solution has to do with how employers woo potential workers. Remote work has become more popular since the pandemic started.
Most casino resort jobs, however, can’t be performed remotely.

“Businesses are learning that they have to accommodate workers, which we’ve seen with remote work,” Sisolak said. “Looking back a couple of years, we were talking about raising the minimum wage by 75 cents and that’s been blown out of the ballpark now. Now I’m seeing (offers of) $16 or $18 per hour to work at a fast-food restaurant. Businesses are learning by the law of supply and demand that they have to come up with better wages, conditions and amenities.”

Along with the local Culinary and Bartenders unions, the Culinary Academy has partnerships with Strip resort operators.

Since opening its doors in 1993, the academy has trained over 55,000 people.