Since the inception of Workshop Coffee in 2011, our aim has always been to provide our staff with a career — rather than a job — in coffee.
On the surface, the two don’t sound all that dissimilar. In both cases, there is an expectation that you will turn up on time each day, create and serve delicious drinks whilst there and ensure the creation of a warm, welcoming environment.
But there is a difference, and it lies in focusing beyond the day-to-day. A career provides the opportunity to develop, a platform for growth and the chance to progress. As we’ve grown and evolved, we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to invest an increasingly focused amount of time and effort into this development.
In fact, for the last 12 months we’ve been formally running our internal training scheme. The Barista Roadmap aims to take ambitious, passionate individuals and, through fortnightly one-on-one training sessions in our dedicated training space, help them develop the necessary skills and knowledge that take them to the next step in their career in coffee: Barista.
We’re beginning to see the effects of this in a very tangible way across all of our shops, but as of recently our Marylebone Coffeebar is a particularly good example of where this might lead.
Each person, whether Barista or Coffeebar Manager, started their career with us as a bar back. Grace came via the roastery, whilst Sjani, Kristyna and Frankie spent their first year with us at our Marylebone, Holborn and Fitzrovia Coffeebars respectively.
Perhaps the most exciting element of this is that none of them are close to done yet.
Training continues and so does our commitment to sourcing, roasting and serving coffee of the highest standard possible. As we continue to grow, we hope to see our team — both in its present and future form — grow with us.
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