Elmhirst’s Resort looks to connect with high school SHSM students in wake of post-secondary hospitality programs

By Alison de Groot / April 2026

Cuts to post-secondary hospitality and tourism programs in Ontario are occurring at the same time the tourism industry is projected to grow, raising concerns about future labour shortages. Across the province, many colleges have suspended programs due to financial pressures stemming from declining enrolment and the federal cap on international student permits, a major source of revenue. For example, Fleming College has suspended several hospitality-related programs, including Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Operations as well as culinary programs such as Culinary Skills and Culinary Management. Similar cuts have occurred across Ontario’s college system, where institutions have eliminated hundreds of programs while attempting to manage significant budget deficits.

At the same time, the tourism sector continues to expand. Tourism supports more than 700,000 jobs in Canada and accounted for about 1.7% of the national GDP in 2024 (Business Development Bank of Canada, 2025). Forecasts also suggest tourism revenue in Canada will grow by about 4.7% annually between 2024 and 2030, while visitor spending is expected to increase by 2–4% in 2025 (Tourism Data Collective, 2024; TD Economics, 2025). In Ontario alone, visitors spent $24.8 billion in 2024, and tourism revenue is projected to grow from about $86 billion in 2024 to over $101 billion by 2027 (Statistics Canada, 2025; Regional Tourism Organization 9, 2024). These figures highlight a contradiction: while tourism demand and economic impact are increasing, cuts to hospitality and tourism education risk weakening the workforce pipeline needed to sustain this growth.

In this current environment, it has become clear that the industry itself will need to step up to build and market the skills development and employment pathway to careers in hospitality and tourism.

Operators, local tourism organizations, provincial and national industry associations will need to focus on connecting with educators at the secondary school level, where Special High Skills Majors still include many of the trades that feed into our sector and connect with students in the SHSM streams to showcase career opportunities.

Elmhirst’s Resort, in Keene, Ontario, is taking active steps in this direction.  Resort owner Greg Elmhirst partnered with local school boards to host two significant events aimed at reaching high school students and educators with the “we are growing, we are hiring” message.

In November 2025, the resort hosted 90 high school students from the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board for a day of experiential learning that included resort staff-led activities in housekeeping, food and beverage service, and customer service.  Students had the opportunity to audit a cleaned cottage, learn to make a signature mocktail, plate their own lunches, and test their customer service skills through an interactive quiz during a day-long visit to the property. During lunch, resort staff shared their career journeys with students.

And in April 2026, Elmhirst’s Resort hosted its first Trade Futures in Hospitality Symposium, with secondary school educators from three regional school boards in attendance.  The event featured guest speakers and a panel discussion showcasing the national, regional and local hospitality and tourism economic forecast with a future employment focus. Educators were truly surprised at the diversity of full-time career pathways available in the industry.

Presenters included Andrew Siegwart, President & CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario; Ron Pellerine, Chief Operating Officer of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre; Dr. Wayne Smith, Professor/Director of the Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Research at Toronto Metropolitan University; Greg Elmhirst, Owner and General Manager of Elmhirst’s Resort; as well as TEDx speaker and consultant Blake Fly.

“As an industry, we are going to have to take a more active role to inspire and recruit the next generation of employees we need to continue to grow and succeed,” Elmhirst says. “While our industry can become more efficient with AI tools, hospitality-based operators cannot thrive without actual people doing most of the jobs. It was important to us to demonstrate the growth we are expecting, the breadth of opportunities for students, and to support educators with the data to back that up.”

Elmhirst says it is important to open lines of dialogue with students and educators at the high school level now that fewer post-secondary programs support the industry. “The industry is going to have to step up to fill the gap,” he added.

Elmhirst plans to continue engaging with local school boards to promote the hospitality and tourism industry to the next-generation workforce and hopes other operators will engage as well.