HTA Celebrates National Apprenticeship Week and our 2026 Class of Graduates!
We celebrated National Apprenticeship Week and our 2026 Registered Apprenticeship Graduation on the USC Campus, welcoming a full house of community leaders, HTA staff and instructors, family, and friends. We highlighted the transformative power of Registered Apprenticeships to provide economic opportunities for under-resourced people and build our hospitality workforce, and lifted up 50 new graduates of our Line Cook and Barista/Latte Artist programs as certified Apprentices.
We were honored to welcome California Labor Secretary Stewart Knox as our special guest and featured speaker. Kelly LoBianco, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity; Nancy Farias, Director of the California Employment Development Department; Susan Minato, HTA Board Chair and UNITE HERE Local 11 Co-President; Gabriela Jimenez, HTA Program Director; and Elvin Flores, HTA Apprenticeship Manager spoke at the recognition event and honored our newest class of graduates. The program also featured a candid conversation between Secretary Knox and three of our graduates – Tahei Moore (Line Cook), and sisters Kay Khaing Aung (Line Cook) and May Khaing Aung (Barista) – which spotlighted our life-changing programs and inspiring students.
HTA graduates: you make us so proud and we are excited to support you in your next chapter!