Supporting young people to gain new skills to find employment
Late last year, headspace Adelaide partnered with Good Social Café to support young people engaged in the centre’s Early Psychosis program to develop hospitality skills in a real café setting.
headspace Adelaide’s Early Psychosis program provides early intervention and specialist support for young people aged 12-25 experiencing, or at risk of psychosis. Understanding that the treatment of psychosis requires a holistic approach, the program supports young people in every aspect of their lives, including education, employment and relationships.
Research shows that engagement with work or study is an important factor in a young person’s recovery and can support an individual’s independence, confidence and social connection.
headspace Adelaide facilitated a ‘Barista and Hospitality Skills’ group program with Good Social Café in order to meet the needs of young people engaged with the Early Psychosis program who were interested in building their work-related knowledge and skills in a practical way.
The two-week program set out to provide young people who had little or no prior experience working in hospitality the opportunity to explore whether the industry is appropriate for them. It also provided them with the chance to learn new skills in coffee making and food preparation that they can then refer to when job-seeking, as well as meet other young people, increase their confidence and gain exposure to a potential employer.
headspace Adelaide was proud to partner with Good Social Café for the program. Good Social Café is a unique social enterprise project and an initiative of the Human Appeal which was established over 30 years ago with a clear vision that values human life and dignity, embracing justice and equality in a world free of suffering and poverty. The café serves speciality coffee that is organically blended, ethically sourced, and locally roasted.
During the two-week program, the participants learned how to make coffee, create latte art, and prepare food platters for distribution at a small local event.
Speaking of his experience with the program, Jordan, aged 21 commented that the program was “fun, the trainers were nice, learnt basic skills and learnings were descriptive”.
Dale Gunning, Manager at the Good Social Café, was impressed with the participant’s enthusiasm and willingness to learn and try new skills. Dale is looking forward to working headspace Adelaide throughout this year to develop another program to increase young people’s employability skills and confidence.
Find out more
To learn more about headspace Adelaide’s Early Psychosis program, visit sonder.net.au/headspace-early-psychosis or contact the team via email at info@headspaceadelaide.org.au or phone 1800 063 267
To learn more about Good Social Café, visit goodsocial.cafe