Part of the Etc.
An innovative new restaurant has been helping to boost the employment chances of a further 12 job seekers on Teesside.
Launched in Middlesbrough, the aim of The Fork in the Road is to provide career opportunities for ex-offenders, the long term unemployed and recovering addicts – as well as making fantastic food of course.
Now working in partnership with Stockton Riverside College, the not-for-profit social enterprise has assisted in the delivery of a four-week sector-based programme providing more job seekers with the industry-specific skills employers are looking for.
“Catering and hospitality is a growing area with a big skills shortage,” said Andy Preston, the businessman behind the Linthorpe Road-based eatery and chairman of charities Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation and CEO Sleepout.
With that in mind he said the restaurant seemed a natural choice, both in terms of business and helping people develop skills with real future employment opportunities.
The Stockton Riverside College sector-based work academy will see each member of the group walk away with a range of employability skills including food hygiene, emergency first aid, manual handling and customer service.
“It has been a really good experience,” said Jemma Hill, 35, from Stockton. Having been out of work for eight months, she said: “I am looking for work and this has helped to build my confidence.”
Chris Cadbury-Allen, 27, from Middlesbrough, said: “I have been out of work for a few months and it has been two years since I finished university. There’s a lot of pressure put on you to get a job, but it isn’t easy to find work.
“This has been a good opportunity, the whole group has really come together and you couldn’t ask for a better tutor.”
Taking everything he can from the experience Andrew Pearson, 40, of Middlesbrough, said: “When my job coach suggested this I was dubious at first as I have been on a lot of courses.
“It had got to a point where I was ready to give up looking for work and considered myself to be on the scrapheap.
“I have really enjoyed it, the course has brushed up on skills that maybe I had but didn’t even realise.”
Working directly with businesses and job centres, Stockton Riverside College’s sector-based work academies can help to create a job-ready workforce by equipping job seekers with some of the essential skills required to work in a specific field.
The college’s pre-employment and skills manager Joanne Scott said: “Working closely with employers Stockton Riverside College has been able to help equip learners, who traditionally may have been out of the workplace for a long time, with some of the essential skills needed to take the next steps into employment.”
Backed by charity CEO Sleepout, The Fork in the Road is also funded by Public Health England with input from charity Recovery Connections and Middlesbrough Council’s Public Health Department.
Launched in Middlesbrough, the aim of The Fork in the Road is to provide career opportunities for ex-offenders, the long term unemployed and recovering addicts – as well as making fantastic food of course.
Now working in partnership with Stockton Riverside College, the not-for-profit social enterprise has assisted in the delivery of a four-week sector-based programme providing more job seekers with the industry-specific skills employers are looking for.
“Catering and hospitality is a growing area with a big skills shortage,” said Andy Preston, the businessman behind the Linthorpe Road-based eatery and chairman of charities Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation and CEO Sleepout.
With that in mind he said the restaurant seemed a natural choice, both in terms of business and helping people develop skills with real future employment opportunities.
The Stockton Riverside College sector-based work academy will see each member of the group walk away with a range of employability skills including food hygiene, emergency first aid, manual handling and customer service.
“It has been a really good experience,” said Jemma Hill, 35, from Stockton. Having been out of work for eight months, she said: “I am looking for work and this has helped to build my confidence.”
Chris Cadbury-Allen, 27, from Middlesbrough, said: “I have been out of work for a few months and it has been two years since I finished university. There’s a lot of pressure put on you to get a job, but it isn’t easy to find work.
“This has been a good opportunity, the whole group has really come together and you couldn’t ask for a better tutor.”
Taking everything he can from the experience Andrew Pearson, 40, of Middlesbrough, said: “When my job coach suggested this I was dubious at first as I have been on a lot of courses.
“It had got to a point where I was ready to give up looking for work and considered myself to be on the scrapheap.
“I have really enjoyed it, the course has brushed up on skills that maybe I had but didn’t even realise.”
Working directly with businesses and job centres, Stockton Riverside College’s sector-based work academies can help to create a job-ready workforce by equipping job seekers with some of the essential skills required to work in a specific field.
The college’s pre-employment and skills manager Joanne Scott said: “Working closely with employers Stockton Riverside College has been able to help equip learners, who traditionally may have been out of the workplace for a long time, with some of the essential skills needed to take the next steps into employment.”
Backed by charity CEO Sleepout, The Fork in the Road is also funded by Public Health England with input from charity Recovery Connections and Middlesbrough Council’s Public Health Department.
