Cooking up skilled apprentices

DEAKIN Miller is serving up some impressive food skills in a time when thousands of hospitality staff will be needed in coming years.

The third-year apprentice chef at The Turret Cafe is an example for many who might consider filling hospitality jobs.

According to Victorian Skills Plan data, an extra 2,700 accommodation and food jobs will be needed for the Central Highlands region between 2025 and 2035, and 650 jobs would be needed between 2025 and 2028.

For Miller, working at The Turret and completing his apprenticeship at Federation TAFE offered him a creative outlet for his culinary passion.

“We come in nice and early, and we smash some work out,” he said. “Every day’s different.

“We have a degree of freedom.”

Leroy Hand is the owner of The Turret Cafe, and is an advocate for training apprentices.

In 2025, The Turret Cafe was named business of the year at the Federation University Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards.

Hand had four apprentices, three chefs and one baker studying at Fed TAFE.

“Without apprentice chefs joining the industry, we don’t have a future,” he said.

“We have the opportunity to employ great young people who want to join our industry, and we have to invest time, but it’s worth every penny.”

Hand said he appreciated the training his business’s apprentices received because they not only honed but developed skills.

Darren Gray, Federation University pro vice-chancellor VET and pathways and chief executive, TAFE, said local businesses rely on a capable, skilled local workforce.

He said his organisation played an integral role in providing the community with the skills it needed.

“As Ballarat continues to grow, it’s essential that education and industry work hand in hand,” Gray said.

“Strong partnerships help ensure the local workforce grows alongside the region’s needs – and success stories like The Turret Cafe highlight just how effective that collaboration can be.”