The Culinary Academy of Las Vegas

The vision of the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas is to reduce poverty and eliminate unemployment by providing employability and vocational skills to youth, adults, and displaced workers.

Each year, the Academy trains several thousand people in 12 job classifications for the local hospitality industry: baker’s helper, bar apprentice, bar porter, bus person, food server, fountain worker, guest room attendant, house person/utility porter, professional cook, sommelier, steward, and wine server. Our training model simulates actual working conditions wherever possible.

At the Academy, we focus on student success. Typically, a class has no more than 15 students, and this low teacher-student ratio ensures that every participant gets individualized attention. Critical to our effort is employing instructors who come from the industry and have performed the jobs for which they are training our students. They are knowledgeable and experienced, with up-to-date hospitality skills.

The Academy’s student body is diverse. In 2014, 53 percent of graduates were Hispanic, 28 percent African-American, 11 percent Caucasian, 8 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, and .1% American Indian. Graduates were almost evenly divided between males and females.