FOOD & DRINK
CULTIVATING COFFEE CONNOISSEURS
Gather & Gather, the catering arm of Mitie Group, discusses why they joined forces with social enterprise Well Grounded to help train the next generation of baristas.
Coffee keeps Britain moving and demand for it shows no sign of slowing down. UK coffee shop sales are expected to rise 10% by 2022 to reach £3.7bn, according to research by Mintel, with the rise driven by younger millennials and parents. Brits spent £3.4bn in coffee shops in 2017, an almost 1% rise from the previous year. Four in five UK nationals surveyed (79%) bought a hot drink out of home in 2017, rising to 90% of those aged 18 to 27, while coffee shops are drawing 87% of parents who have children aged 16 or below.
This thirst for coffee extends to the workplace as well. What’s more, employees across all sectors are expecting great quality, specialist coffee – served to them by an expert barista. Brits rank latte (35%) and cappuccino (33%) as their favourite brews, followed by hot chocolate (23%). Cappuccinos are most popular among males (36%), while latte is the favourite drink of females (37%). Drinkers aged 35 to 54 are the biggest consumers of espresso-based drinks, with 43% of women ordering lattes and 42% of men opting for cappuccino.
All these choices are best prepared by an expert, but across the coffee sector there is a shortage of baristas. Which is why, Gather & Gather is working with Well Grounded, a social enterprise that changes lives through coffee, to provide Londoners with the skills, training work placements and paid employment as part of a plan to develop the very best baristas for its front of house teams.
There is a huge demand for skilled baristas – the industry predicts there will be 40,000 jobs over the next six years – and Gather & Gather has committed to identifying, recruiting and then developing its own teams in partnership with Well Grounded.
Based in east London, Well Grounded tackles unemployment through coffee by providing people with the skills they need to access roles as specialty baristas in London. Gather & Gather has already sponsored a first tranche of aspiring baristas. The 10-week programme began in October with trainees graduating in December before beginning their new jobs in early 2018.
“We agreed to sponsor eight trainees, support their
coffee education and provide them with paid placements across our London clients and then offer them full time employment once the programme is finished,” said Rob Fredrickson, Gather & Gather’s Managing Director. “It is a really exciting project. It allows us to put something back into the local community and mine our own seam of talent, so we can make sure we give our own customers an excellent coffee experience.”
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Employees across all sectors are expecting great quality, specialist coffee – served to them by an expert barista.
Eve Wagg, Managing Director of Well Grounded, said: “We are passionate about people and coffee. Through our accredited coffee training and employment programme we provide people with a route into work as specialty Baristas. Our ongoing programme of technical development means our Baristas are constantly learning about the industry and gaining new skills. We have Graduates now working at coffee origin in Rwanda, or as roasters, as well as head Baristas across the country.
“We are excited that Gather & Gather is committed to developing its own talent by investing in training and development. As London’s first social enterprise solely focused on developing talent within the speciality coffee industry, we have a great track record of connecting people with the skills, training and qualifications they need for a sustainable route into employment. We are looking forward to a long-term partnership with Rob and his team,” Eve continued.
Over four-fifths of graduates from the Well Grounded scheme gain permanent employment as baristas – which for many can be life changing. Both organisations are optimistic that a second round of training with fresh trainees will begin in 2018.
www.gatherandgather.com twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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