The program which officially launched earlier this year, aims to equip asylum seekers, migrants, refugees and low income Australians with coffee making skills to better their employment opportunities in the future.
Spire Community Manager, David Winderlich, expressed that the program is significant for community members seeking employment. “Coffee is the heart of any cafe and Hope’s Café is no different,” he said. “Serving good quality coffee is vital to attracting supportive customers, who we hope will become part of our community. And learning how to make good coffee gives not only great satisfaction, but a skill that leads to employment. It is a vital opportunity for migrants, refugees and Australians who need to find work.”
Minister of the Clayton Wesley Uniting Church and the former head barista at the cafe, Paul Turley, initially began teaching members how to utilise the coffee machine. “We started training people on the coffee machine almost as soon as we got going with Hope’s Café,” he said. "To start with, all we did was open the doors, fire up the machine and make coffee for whoever turned up. It wasn’t long before people were having a go and getting better and better, and it wasn’t much longer until we had baristas who were much better than me!"
Mr Turley also added that the purpose behind teaching members to make coffee was to provide them with a sense of belonging. "My main aim in teaching people to make coffee has always been to help them feel a part of our community here and to be able to meet, welcome and serve others,” he said. "Hospitality is one of the greatest gifts that one human being can offer another and I think there is something special about being able to serve others, especially if it’s a delicious coffee. It is also true that coffee making skills are really transferable in such a coffee conscious culture like Adelaide and it’s been great to see people get paid work from their experiences in Hope’s Café.”
According to the Head Coordinator of Hope’s Café, Rebecca Walker, the training program has been effective in aiding community members to obtain employment. “Under our old scheme which involved us borrowing a barista trainer from Experience Cafe, we were able to issue Gina with a certificate for the completion of her training,” she said. “Gina was one of our success stories from last year, as she went onto finding a job as a barista.”
Back in June this year, Hope’s Café formed a partnership with HG Coffee School to provide professional and advanced barista training for its community members. As part of this partnership, HG Coffee School provides a free introduction course to Hope’s Café volunteers involved in the barista training program. The school’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Luke Wade, explained the reasoning behind the partnership. “We entered a partnership with Hope’s Café to contribute our expertise in the coffee industry and to provide some assistance in setting up the foundation of Hope’s Café’s barista training program,” he said.
To raise money for the vital program, Hope’s Café and HG Coffee School will be hosting the fundraising event ‘Hopes, Dreams and Coffee Beans.’ The cafe is set to be transformed into an international coffee house and bakery for the event. “Our training partner HG Coffee School will be sharing the love of coffee with a fascinating and interactive demonstration on alterative brewing methods, including the V60-pour-over, cold drip tower and siphon coffee on the day,” Ms Walker said.
During the event, senior barista Soheila will be demonstrating the art of making Persian tea and explaining the history of tea drinking culture in Iran. Attendees will also be able to sample Iranian desserts.
The event will be held on the 19th of November from 10am to 3pm.
By Alma Ramcilovic
Journalism Volunteer
9
INSPIRE / October 20163
The barista training program operating at Hope’s Café is improving the chances of employment for disadvantaged and vulnerable community members.
Click here to visit the HG Coffee School website.