One of Kyneton’s newest foodie hotspots, the Social Foundry on the corner of High and Mollison Streets, is celebrating the first round of graduates from its successful Skills for Life program.
Together with the Kyneton Community and Learning Centre, the Social Foundry has the united goal of training and assisting young people who need to find new pathways in both work and life.
Eight folk took up the program across nine weeks.
“Of the eight, three have gained offers of employment, two are moving to further study, two are continuing to volunteer at the Social Foundry and all of them have been busily putting themselves out there for work opportunities and attending interviews,” said Claire Rawlinson who is the community development and pathways coordinator at KCLC.
She said all of the participants became close friends and supporters of each other and enjoyed their training and work during their time at the Social Foundry.
“One of them said there was nothing he didn’t like – he liked the whole course and another said that it was not like a normal classroom, it was more like a good interaction, and fun.”
The skills program involved work placement at the Social Foundry for one day a week and one day at the KCLC encompassing job skills workshops, literacy and numeracy support, gaining hospitality credentials such as responsible serving of alcohol certificates, barista skills, learning food handling and hygiene techniques and attaining a Level II workplace first aid qualification.
“The course has really given all the students a measure of confidence to go out and find what it is they want to do next,” Claire said.
The course is free to eligible participants and will be running again in term three. Anyone interested can send an email to kclc-programs@bigpond.com or call 5422 3433 or 0436 366 156.
