Mohegan Sun holds NSCC employment fair

LYNN – Her first love is cooking, and Kateryn Toribio made sure everyone knew it Wednesday when she attended the North Shore Community College casino jobs fair dressed in her kitchen whites.Toribio is studying culinary arts as part of a two-year degree program at North Shore, and she said a job cooking in a proposed Suffolk Downs casino could give her restaurant experience.?I?d like to own my own restaurant,” she said.Mohegan Sun representatives told Toribio and about 90 other people who attended the fair how the gambling firm trains and promotes workers in jobs ranging from food and beverage to hotel and slots operations.?We are treated beautifully,” said Mohegan table games director Don Bowen.Mohegan and Suffolk Downs are seeking state approval to build a Revere casino and the state Gaming Commission is scheduled to decide in June if the Revere partnership or a competing Everett casino plan will get a license.Mohegan spokeswoman Krista Robinson said Mohegan-Suffolk has committed to hiring 4,000 permanent workers if the Revere proposal receives state approval. A June license decision in its favor would start Mohegan-Suffolk on a 30-month track to designing and building the Revere gambling complex, Robinson said.Even with a casino?s construction at best two years away, Robinson said casino operators are holding several jobs fairs, including ones scheduled at North Shore Community College, to attract people interested in working for Mohegan-Suffolk.?We want a job-ready workforce,” she said.Like Toribio, culinary arts student Ariana Connolly of Peabody attended the jobs fair to learn about restaurant opportunities potentially available in a Revere casino. She envisions Suffolk Downs transformed into a gambling complex crowded with people, including visitors from other nations.?I want to be in the kitchen. Working in a restaurant is exciting,” Connolly said.Mohegan brochures available to fair attendees described job descriptions and promotion opportunities.?Slot operations teams are front-line ambassadors for Mohegan,” read one description.?You should be engaging, friendly and possess an outgoing demeanor,” stated another.Daryll Wilson of Lynn attended Wednesday?s fair after hearing Mohegan Sun has a reputation for providing long-term employment. Wilson has worked “customer service jobs of all kinds” and the prospect of a steady job makes sense to the single mother who said she experienced a career revelation after recently turning 42. She began studying hotel management at North Shore last September.?I had a bad day at work and said, ?Time to figure out what you want to do,?” she said.