Only one Bermudian has enrolled for a waiting course at Bermuda College which was due to start this week but has now been pushed back to September.That is the alarming statistic that has left restaurateur Walter Simmons and others in his industry deeply concerned and frustrated about the worrying trend of apathy by Bermudians towards jobs in the hospitality and service sector.In an interview, Mr Simmons, who owns Bouchee and the Rotisserie Grill, said that opportunities were available to Bermudians who wanted a career in the industry and he was doing everything in his power to recruit them.“The College put on a course for Bermudians to gain a certificate in waiting,” he said. “The programme includes the basics of food, wine and beverage service.“But it had to postpone the course until September because only one person registered.”Mr Simmons said that he contacted Bermuda College and asked them to send him the name and phone number of the person who had signed up but when he called the number to offer the person a job, it kept cutting off.As a former chairman of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce’s nightclub and restaurant division, he realises the need for Bermuda to offer first-class service and for those who work in the sector to be fully committed to maintaining the highest global standard.“If Bermudians are serious about getting gainful employment in this industry they should come prepared, show up to an interview on time with their resume and references. Don’t put references on request on your resume, bring them with you,” he said.“For once I would just like someone to show up and on their resume say they want to work in the hospitality industry and to make it a career, that’s the kind of person who I want.“Unfortunately the reality is that all too often we get people who just want a job for work’s sake and we hire them, train them up and invest time and money in them, as well as putting them on our health insurance and pension plans, and they usually last anywhere from one day to three months because it isn’t what they really want to be doing.“I want to say to anyone looking for a job in the restaurant/hospitality trade to come, we want Bermudians, we need Bermudians and we welcome Bermudians. At the end of the day this is our country and who better to show it at its best than Bermudians?“So come with a smile and a positive attitude, but also come in the knowledge that it does include weekend, evening and public holiday work and with reasonable expectations.”Unlike the hotel sector, restaurants can offer year-round employment, said Mr Simmons, adding that the work could also be rewarding, with the potential to move up the career ladder, especially Bermudians.Turning to the issue of guest workers, whom he estimates make up 80 percent of the industry, Mr Simmons said restaurant owners were tired of the negative comments they received and that Bermudians should put up or shut up and take up the opportunities afforded to them if they were serious about doing the job.“For myself and every other restaurateur on the Island it is our profession and we can say that with pride,” he said.“I think that what Bermudians need to understand is that they need to come into this industry with an attitude of service, not with an attitude.”Mr Simmons said that he had given chances to numerous people with no prior experience or those qualified in a different field, but all too often their hearts weren’t in it and they ended up leaving sooner or later.He said that all he was looking for was someone with the right aptitude and then the doors that could open for them were almost limitless, citing the example of the Fairmont chain which had sent Bermudians overseas to work within its global network as to what might be achieved.With no applicants for the manager’s role at Bouchee, despite advertising heavily for the job, Mr Simmons has taken on the additional responsibilities himself.“What really grates with me is that during the public holidays people go out to eat but when a restaurant is closed they bitch and moan about it. The reason it is closed is often because we don’t have the staff or even the people applying that want to do the work,” he said.Commending the strides Labour Minister Kim Wilson had achieved, particularly in getting Bermudians registered and understanding the needs of the hospitality sector, during her short term in office, Mr Simmons said the onus shouldn’t always be on the employer, but the prospective employee also had to pull their own weight by going down to the Department of Labour and Training to get retrained as well as attend in the Bermuda College courses in hospitality to learn how to serve properly.He said a smile went a long way in his business and actually helped to land one applicant a job at his restaurant during her interview.“She has no experience, but I’m willing to train her and take a chance because when I interviewed her that was what she was doing smiling all the way through,” he said.“I am that keen to recruit Bermudians that in another case the Department of Labour and Training sent me a resume for a pot washer and as soon as I got it, I called a couple of his previous employers and got some positive feedback but when I tried calling him his phone was out of order.“I sent Labour and Training an e-mail for further information to set up an appointment and went to knock on his door.”Over the past couple of years, Mr Simmons said he had seen a drop-off in the number of visitors and an increase in guest workers leaving the Island, resulting in several restaurants closing their doors, and he urged residents to support their favourite local eateries during these tough times.Ending on the matter of the undersubscribed Bermuda College course, Mr Simmons said the $450 cost of the course was a small price to pay for what could turn into a whole career in the industry and should be viewed as a good investment for anyone serious about making their way in the trade.