Thursday, June 14, 2001 | 10:44 a.m.
ATLANTIC CITY -- Labor-starved casino hotels are getting a boost from a new employment recruiting initiative that uses a CD-ROM to advertise job openings and accept applications online.
About 700 copies of the disc, entitled "Atlantic City Hospitality Careers: An interactive tour of entry-level job opportunities," will be distributed to employment agencies, libraries, high schools and vo-tech centers statewide in hopes of spreading the word about job openings in New Jersey's 12 casino hotels.
It describes the salaries, necessary qualifications and responsibilities for people performing six of the most available jobs in the casinos: security guard, cashier, marketing representative, food server, guest room attendant and slot attendant.
It also includes testimonials from casino workers and outlines about the operations of each of the casinos. When used with an Internet-accessible computer, the disc can be used to send e-mails applying for jobs to all 12 existing casinos and the Borgata, a casino hotel opening here in 2003.
The CD-ROM, a joint project of Atlantic Cape Community College, the state Department of Labor and seven of the casinos, cost about $50,000 to produce, said Pat Owens, the college's project director.
Officials hope the initiative will reach the unemployed, underemployed and welfare recipients of Atlantic City and elsewhere, bringing new applicants to casinos constantly in need of them.
"We have a very big labor mismatch, between the supply of people and the demand for people in entry-level positions," Owens said.
Atlantic City's casinos employ more than 45,000 people, but struggle to find employees for many jobs. Within the next 10 years, there will be 65,000 job openings in the casinos, according to the CD-ROM.
Meanwhile, the city itself -- which has fewer than 39,000 full-time residents -- has persistently high unemployment.
Last year the city's annual average jobless rate was 9.9 percent, compared with 3.8 percent statewide.
The Sands Hotel & Casino, one of the city's smallest, employs about 3,000 people but usually has about 200 job openings, according to Signe Huff, senior vice president of marketing and human resources.
"It's difficult to keep them filled because there's so many other opportunities in town," Huff said. "We do a lot of outside recruiting but it's never enough. I see this CD-ROM as something that can be useful for us in recruiting people."
John Ceresani, vice president of human resources for the Claridge Casino Hotel, said that casino typically has 50 job openings at a time.
"It's a constant battle," he said of staffing. "This program is very innovative. Anything we can get to spread the word that we need people and we have opportunities is a help."
One drawback of the CD-ROM is that it is available only in English.
Another is that potential candidates for entry-level jobs in casinos may be less likely to be computer literate or have Internet access. Owens said the agencies that make the CD-ROM available could help bridge that digital divide for would-be applicants.
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