UCF, Disney team up to hire students, alumni during exclusive job recruitment event

ORLANDO, Fla. — The University of Central Florida and Disney teamed up for an exclusive job recruitment event.

It came at a time when our entire hospitality industry is desperate for new workers.

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Despite the ongoing pandemic, Central Florida’s theme parks are open again.

Though they are greeting visitors, that doesn’t mean things are back to normal — far from it, especially behind the scenes.

“Labor force shortages, you know, that is the situation we are still dealing with,” said Youcheng Wang, dean of UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

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It’s one of the reasons the UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management held its student and alumni recruitment event Wednesday with Walt Disney World.

Not only is Disney the largest employer in Central Florida, it employs the most UCF hospitality management graduates.

“The front office positions are important in the sense that, you know, these are people who are in the frontline to provide really, the service to the guests, so that, you know, the guests will have the value for their money, and the experiences, they will carry, you know, at this great destination,” Wang said.

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Currently, all theme parks are in dire need of positions across all seniority levels and job functions. There’s also a lack of accountants, managers and engineers.

Wang doesn’t think the hospitality workforce will be back to pre-pandemic levels for some time.

“This is a situation we’re going to deal with, in an extra two or three years,” he said.

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Wednesday’s event was for UCF students and alumni only.

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