Cafe work gives careers a caffeine shot
MELBOURNE’S coffee culture is helping to set young people on their career paths, a new study suggests.
The Australian Food & Grocery Council said experience working in cafes helped set people up with life skills transferable to other jobs.
A survey it commissioned found that 91 per cent of Victorians had worked in the food and hospitality sector at some stage, mostly while in high school or university. This result was almost twice the national average of 48 per cent.
About two-thirds of those had been employed at a cafe, restaurant, fast-food chain or convenience store; the other third had worked in a supermarket or a shop.
The council’s chief executive, Tanya Barden, said it played an important role in teaching young people a broad range of skills – “everything from problem-solving, time management, humility, and a strong work ethic, to learning how to work as part of a team and the necessity of routine and procedures”.
“In other words,” she said, “a job in the industry lays the foundation for a successful working life and advancement into the professions and more senior business roles.”
The survey results showed that 70 per cent of people obtained their first job in the food industry when they were aged 24 or under. It found that 13 per cent were aged 25 to 34 when they started, 9 per cent were 35 to 44, and 1 per cent were aged over 65.
Ms Barden said the experience was a kickstart to careers.