A TRAINING program at Rye Community House is training dozens of people to work in the hospitality industry and creating a network of employment paths for those seeking work. The Coffee Connection program is an example of community groups and businesses working together to strengthen employment prospects for young people through targeted training.
Dale Newman heads the program which started as a three-month trial last year supported by a grant from Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. Since April last year the program has trained 30 people of all ages and backgrounds. “We are so pleased with the way it’s evolved and is helping with social connection in the community, as well as employment and helping businesses,” Newman said.
Participants get free training that leads to certification on the understanding that they then volunteer some time at the community house. “We have participants manning our coffee cart which was made for us by the men at Seawinds Rosebud Men’s Shed and has become the real social hub of the centre,” Newman said. “But we also have volunteers working in admin here, and that skills them up in other ways.”
Newman has also created a Friends of Rye Coffee Cart networking group to build connections between employers, training providers and job seekers. Coffee Connection has paired up with Advance College to provide the Hospitality Essentials course, and works closely with socially responsible cafe Commonfolk Cafe in Mornington, as well as several community services.
“What I am really proud of is that the quality of everything we do is high, from the coffee we serve from our coffee cart, to the training, and the great feedback we get confirms that,” Newman said. The hospitality course runs over four days, with the next one starting on Tuesday 30 July.
First published in the Mornington News – 18th June 2024
