Coffee catch-up aims to boost employment

BE.BENDIGO along with Workforce Australia is inviting job searchers to have a Coffee With a Boss next week at the Gallery Cafe on View St to hear about job opportunities in the hospitality industry in the area.

Grow project manager at Be.Bendigo Rob Murphy said the aim was to link job hunters and employers in a more relaxed setting.

“We’re looking at trying to connect those employers that have vacancies in the hospitality industry directly with people that are seeking work but doing it in a little bit of a different way,” he said.

“We’re trying to make it less about the job interview, or more like it’s an informal job interview. Our idea is to have employers that need workers quickly start people interested in working in the industry.

“Several organisations are currently offering barista training and those sorts of things. Come along, have a coffee, chat, and ideally build a relationship that leads to employment.”

Mr Murphy said there were a number of businesses looking for workers and the Coffee With a Boss event could be a less stressful way for job seekers to find employment.

“We are looking at 15 to 20 businesses at the moment and we are looking to have around that one employer to two job seeker type ratio,” he said.

“We’re trying to keep it small and intimate and that way there is likely to be relationship building. We don’t want to overwhelm the employers, but we also don’t want to overwhelm those job seekers.”

Expressions of interest in the Tuesday 27 June event can be made via bit.ly/3Xi1cB5.