Refugee Training Initiative

Plateful Cafe

With this grant, we will provide a life-changing 8 week training course for a team of 6 local refugees, consisting of 6 hours of training a week per person. The reason we have chosen to encourage refugee upskilling is because studies show that refugees are less likely to be employed than people born here and refugees are less likely to be employed than any other migrant groups (Kone, Ruiz, Vargas-Silva, 2019). Our training initiative will provide culinary and employment training/skills in order to give these refugees the much needed opportunities to gain UK work experience (with ethnic minorities directly impacted). This training will consist of: • Level 2 food safety and hygiene qualification (partnership- Sustain) • Barista training (partnership- Haven Coffee) • English speaking practice (partnership- Goldsmith Star) • A foundation course in working in a community café (partnership- Hill Trader Cafe) • Employment support and training- CV, job training (partnership- Maximus UK) • A professional reference, careers advice and well-being support Once the programme has finished, the trainees will be given full support to find a local employer. Alternatively, we also have several opportunities for them to stay and work as chefs at Plateful Café (our refugee-led café)- being paid a London living wage.