The Coffee Club serves up successful training partnership with Employment Plus

Australia’s largest home-grown café group, The Coffee Club, has partnered with Employment Plus to recruit and train job seekers in the art of “Good Food, Great Service and Excellent Coffee”.

The five-week tailored training program has been designed and developed specifically for The Coffee Club and consists of a combination of classroom and on the job training. Following recruitment by Employment Plus, the successful candidates undertake a Certificate III in Retail and a Certificate in Food Handling and Prepare & Serve Espresso Coffee at the ARA Retail Institute. On the job training is then completed at The Coffee Club cafés.

“I’m delighted to report that our first group of seven job seekers have successfully completed their training and are proudly getting their The Coffee Club uniforms ready to start work as baristas, wait staff and short order cooks,” said Kim Rokoloa – the Employment Plus Regional Manager who has played a key role in developing the program.

The tailored training and preparation of job seekers for The Coffee Club stores is a result of a partnership between Employment Plus and the Australian Retailers Association (ARA). A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the two groups earlier in the year to provide ARA member retail organisations with job seekers specifically recruited and trained for their relevant retail sector. The Coffee Club is owned by Minor DKL Food Group, a leading Australian retail food brand franchisor and member of the ARA.

“The Coffee Club is proud and delighted to participate in this program as we’re passionate about providing young Australians a pathway into a career within the hospitality industry,” said Tammy Ryder, General Manager – People, The Coffee Club.

Minor DKL Food Group’s The Coffee Club joins the likes of Office Works in engaging in this successful initiative.

“These organisations are no doubt just the first of many ARA members to take advantage of this strategic, integrated program,” said Garry Terrill, the ARA’s Director of Training and Consulting.

“Our members are attracted to being able to tailor training to suit their service delivery needs.”

“The fact that the training and induction process are incredibly seamless is also a win for time-poor retailers.”

After liaising with the potential employer, Employment Plus conducts a series of pre-screening interviews of its own registered job seekers to identify those who are highly suited to the role requirements.

The selected job seekers are then screened again by the potential employer before being offered the ARA Retail Institute training and on the job training.