THE skate park cafe is set to open next month, and it's the region's youth that will be running the show.
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A call has been put out for those aged 16 to 25 to get their applications for a role that will give them hands-on experience, while completing a Certificate III in Hospitality.
Managing director of the Central Hospitality Group Jye Segboer said he is keen to see youth gain valuable experience, and believes it could help solve the sector's skills shortage problems.
"I think what the training cafe is going to provide is that wonderful opportunity for people to get that first hand experience and put that foot in the water and see if hospitality is for them," he said.
"All too often I think people come into the industry, they might stay for a month or two then they decide 'it's not really for me'."
Around 90 per cent of Mr Segboer's staff had to be put off during the pandemic, and many of them did not return, so he said an initiative like the skate park cafe, where multiple people can get trained up at once, would be hugely beneficial in restocking the town's workforce.
He also noted he would have no problem hiring someone straight out of the skate park cafe after they'd completed their training.
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Students will learn skills such as how to make barista-style coffees, interact with customers, and prepare food and other beverages.
Six students will be working during any given shift, meaning plenty of opportunities are available, and each course will last for around six months.
Hospitality trainer at Joblink Plus, Shaun Abra, said the opportunity to learn in such a hands-on way is something that anyone interested in the industry should jump on.
"Being a training cafe it's going to be hands on every day, so it's a lot better than learning in a classroom, I think a lot of students in the classroom don't learn that way," he said.
"When the information is told to them the information doesn't sink in, whereas this way is predominately on-the-job, so everyone is getting that every day over and over."
One person who can attest to that is former hospitality student Candida Adams, who discovered her love for the job after starting at a cafe in her home town of Narrabri.
"I like hands-on, I like fast pace, I don't like being in a slow environment," she said.
"I love food, so I love to be around food, interact with food, anything to do with food.
"I love meeting new people so I love being in hospitality."
The cafe will have a soft opening on December 8.
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