Market Lane Coffee is super proud to be a supporter of Scarf, an organisation that helps young people get a foot in the hospitality door.
We have been working with Scarf since 2016, and truly believe in their mission to create an inclusive and supportive environment for young people to gain hospitality knowledge, skills and experience.
Scarf has been providing mentoring and hands-on experience to young people who are interested in a career in hospitality – but have so far have been unable to gain employment in the industry – since 2010. Scarf trainees are young people seeking protection, and those from refugee or migrant backgrounds who face multiple barriers to work, and may have also experienced long-term unemployment. As of March 2019, Scarf has facilitated 14,400 hours of industry training and 6,900 hours of paid work experience, and has seen 208 trainees graduate from the program.
The trainees are often referred by organisations like the Australian Red Cross, Foundation House, Life Without Barriers, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Orygen Youth Health and Brimbank Youth Services. Young people can also self-refer through Scarf’s website.
Scarf partners with some of Melbourne’s best restaurants and bars to provide awesome training and paid work experience for its trainees, pairing them with industry professionals for a 10-week course. The program gives participants hands-on training and a supportive space to grow their confidence which is often the key to finding employment.
The program includes a Scarf Dinner season, where the partner restaurant’s chef designs the menu and does the cooking, while Scarf trainees undertake front-of-house duties with the support of mentors (hospitality professionals who volunteer their time.) Scarf mentors come from venues like Market Lane Coffee, Beatrix and Garden State Hotel.
Throughout the program, the trainees learn about different aspects of front-of-house hospitality during the program, and Scarf Dinners are their time to shine. Scarf graduate trainees have gone on to successful employment at venues like Super Ling, Sofitel on Collins, The Moor’s Head, Mount Zero and more.
Like the team and volunteers at Scarf, we believe hospitality can transform lives. Since we began our fundraising partnership with Scarf in 2016, we have proudly raised nearly $8000, which equates to around 314 hours of paid work experience for Scarf trainees. Each trainee earns around $1000 during a program with Scarf – this means we have been able to help Scarf pay wages for a full season of eight Scarf trainees!
You can find out more about Scarf on their website.
