At Old Spike, we roast exceptional specialty coffee, and the money it makes funds our Barista Training and Employment Programme. The programme trains people experiencing homelessness as baristas and supports them into paid work. Every month, we report on how it's going.
In September, three graduates of our Barista Training and Employment Programme moved into paid work, and every trainee who started the programme finished it.
Training numbers were lower this month. That's by design. We've been focusing on the step that matters most once training ends: finding the right employers to take on people who are ready to work.
September in numbers
|
Measure |
September |
|---|---|
|
People attending taster days |
3 |
|
People who completed training |
2 |
|
Graduates into paid work |
3 |
|
Work hours funded |
98.63 |
|
Programme completion rate |
100% |
Every trainee who started training completed it. The three graduates who moved into work this month including people who finished training in earlier months.
What's next: the right employers
Training gets people ready. A job is what changes things. So this autumn, our priority is building a network of employers who can offer our graduates real, paid roles.
Our graduates leave the programme with hands-on café experience, barista skills and a track record of turning up and doing the work. They also have our support as they settle in, and so do our partners.
Hiring in hospitality? We'd like to hear from you. Get in touch at impact@oldspikeroastery.com
In their words: Yin, barista and trainee mentor
Trainees learn on the job, alongside mentors in our cafés. Yin joined Old Spike in May 2022, became a manager soon after, and has hosted trainees ever since.
Since I started to host trainees, this tiny seed started to grow in me. I understood that kindness could be contagious.
Every time we hear that a new graduate has found a job, it makes me feel like a valuable part of this programme.
This programme is what hospitality is about: giving people new opportunities and contributing to the world with kindness.
Your coffee pays for this
Every bag sold through our cafés, wholesale partners and online shop helps fund the programme. That's why we report on it every month. Our customers and partners should be able to see exactly what their coffee achieves.
