Jun. 26—The city of Albuquerque’s job training program is now offering courses for employees of local hospitality industry businesses.

Job Training Albuquerque, which is a partnership between the city of Albuquerque and Central New Mexico Community College, is working with New Mexico Restaurant Association to offer the courses.

There are online courses for servers, private server classes, a manager certification course and other online training programs for restaurants.

Albuquerque-based business with fewer than 500 employees can have employees take the courses at no cost.

More information about the new courses can be found at https://jobtrainingabq.org.

“The restaurant industry has faced numerous challenges over the past few years,” Carol Wright, the CEO of the restaurant association, said in a statement. “By funding these programs for their employees, it will provide much-needed relief to restaurant owners.”

Since it was created in 2020, the JTA has trained 1,656 people from 246 small businesses.

“By expanding our program to include these hospitality trainings, we are directly responding to the needs of our community and the restaurant industry,” Workforce Development Liaison Justin Hilliard said in a statement. “Our goal is to support small businesses and empower residents with the skills they need to thrive.”