Hospitality platform, Barcats, is partnering with the Ministry of Social Development to offer a free Job Ready employment program to help train workers for the hospitality industry.

The pilot program involves two training courses to be held in South Auckland over the weeks of February 14 and 28.

The five-day courses will give candidates the skills and attitude to secure employment in the hospitality sector. There will be a strong focus on practical skills with real-life scenarios. 

To be eligible, applicants must be over 25 years of age and receiving benefits from the Government. 

“The Job Ready Program will have a three-fold effect: helping the New Zealand economy, and the hospitality sector, which has been impacted by the pandemic, and helping those in the community to get back to work,” said Barcats CEO and founder Jeffrey Williams. 

“With uncertainty surrounding when international borders will open, New Zealand hospitality venues are worried about the future and asking for more trained workers as they do not know when international workers can return,” he said.

It’s hoped the program will be later extended to different regions across New Zealand. 

Mr Williams said some of things participants would learn included food safety and liquor licence compliance, hygiene standards and practical skills such as how to pour a beer, how to polish a glass correctly and how to take large orders. 

“We will also teach them how to work as a team which is vital for a successful hospitality business.” 

Attendees will be assigned a senior Barcats staff member as a mentor, who will not only help them throughout the programme, but help them get a job at the end of the course through Barcats’ employer network. 

"The hospitality industry continues to struggle to find quality candidates to adequately staff businesses because of the pandemic,” Hamish Klein, Operations Manager at Good Group Hospitality, said. 

“Training to help Kiwis upskill/reskill like Job Ready by Barcats will certainly help.”

W: barcats.co.nz