Dining at Roger Williams University is an essential part of student life. However, since the beginning of the school year, they have been facing staff shortages.
“The past year was the most challenging compared to years past,” said RWU Dining General Manager James Gubata.
Currently, there are four full time positions open and 20 part time positions open in the dining department, said Gubata. The positions which Gubata said he has the most difficulty filling include prep cooks and dishwashers.
Since the start of the 2022 school year, Gubata said there has been an increase in staffing in Commons as they hired temporary staff from the employment agency to fill open positions.
As a result of the staffing shortage, at the beginning of the fall semester, some retail locations had to close due to lack of staffing, but the Upper and Lower Commons and the Law School Bistro’s hours of operation were not affected, said Gubata.
Additionally, Gubata said that the menus had to be reevaluated occasionally to “streamline production times when [the dining staff was] shorter than usual.”
As conditions in the economy and community work force improve, Gubata said that it is easier to get new hires.
Many of these new hires are community members and some applicants from the Providence area, as well as about 70 students, said Gubata.
“Student workers have been the real fix to our staffing shortages. They have applied in good numbers and are very good workers,” said Gubata.
Students also enjoy flexible schedules and learn new tasks while working in dining, Gubata added.
Overall, Gubata said himself and the dining staff are “optimistic” that next semester will bring even more new hires to the dining department.