09/18/2026
During the recent Job Experience Event (JEE) we hosted in partnership with RK catering, we learned a lot about our 17 participants, who are interested in pursuing employment in San Antonio’s hospitality industry. Throughout a series of catering-related training activities, Employ 210 team members and volunteers observed everything from learning and behavior styles to teamwork and flexibility as a means to better support job seekers on their pathways to employment and independence.
Outside of our own observations, we also learned valuable information from the surveys participants completed toward the end of the event. Unsurprising for a varied group with various support needs, there were no unanimous favorites or least favorites, but enough common ground to inform future trainings.
For starters, when it came to receiving instructions for a new task, the majority of our participants said they’d rather watch someone do the task first and then attempt it themselves versus learning from picture-based instructions or video demonstrations.
Weighing in on their ideal work structure, the majority indicated they’d prefer a combination of teamwork and independent work over a job requiring one or the other. And within that work environment, most said they’d prefer a quiet area with few distractions over a busy area with lots of activity.
As for the JEE’s hands-on activities — which included arranging flowers, folding napkins, setting tables, carrying food service trays, refilling water glasses, and passing hors d’oeuvres — the results were mixed with a few constants. Arguably the most creative rotation of the day, flower arranging ranked high, with one participant saying, “I love all the flowers [individually] and as a group.” Entailing two complex designs, napkin folding ranked low, with one participant describing it as “tricky” and another finding it challenging from a sensory perspective. Encouragingly, more than a few participants said they didn’t have a least favorite activity, and one elected “teamwork, communication and getting to work with others” as the highlight of the day.
Funded by U.S. Department of Education, Grant Number H421F240046
