Volunteering

We welcome volunteers who would like to join the team at The Usual Place.

“Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.”  Sherry Anderson

Why do we involve volunteers?

• Volunteers help reflect and build a bridge between us and the community we serve and in doing so become community ambassadors.
• Volunteers bring diversity which enriches The Usual Place and all the people who train here, volunteer here and work here.
• Volunteers bring a valuable range of qualities and skills, perspective, experience and expertise.
• Volunteers can help us to increase our capacity and in doing so, reach even more people in our community.
• Volunteers can gain valuable skills and experience which will enhance their CV, give them social contacts and give them a fun, enjoyable time whilst doing so.

Volunteer roles:

Here at The Usual Place, we offer many and varied volunteer roles. For example, you can volunteer in food preparation, kitchen portering, laundry, admin, handyman, customer service, special events, social media, I.T, hospitality, retail and many other roles.

 

EMPLOYMENT

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

 

INDUCTION PROGRAMME

Young people who choose to become trainees at The Usual Place will work alongside a dedicated team of staff (mentors) and volunteers. Each young person can work at a pace they are happy with whilst they gain vocational skills and qualifications. This will enable them to achieve their ambitions in the hospitality industry.

This innovative training project will help young people improve their confidence, gain transferable skills in a real work environment and move into paid employment within mainstream workplaces. Our trainees will also be able to connect with other local organisations who will introduce them to a range of social and citizenship opportunities.

Before a young person can become a trainee at The Usual Place, they will complete a 12-week induction programme.

This programme is designed for people aged 14-26 years who have additional support needs.

The programme has several aims:

• To give volunteer experience in hospitality at The Usual Place once a week
• To empower the young person to achieve their ambitions in both life and work
• To allow the young person to learn effective handwashing techniques, food safety procedure such as allergy awareness, good customer care and work towards a food hygiene certificate.

Over the first six weeks, the volunteer will experience all aspects of our business while supported by a mentor.

The volunteer will spend two weeks in each of our key areas:  the kitchen, the café and the retail shop.

• In the kitchen, the volunteer will learn baking and cookery skills and kitchen cleanliness and safety, as well as helping with washing the dishes and cutlery.
• In the café, the volunteer will learn all about working behind the counter. This involves serving food and drinks from the counter and pass, clearing and cleaning tables, keeping the café environment safe and clean for themselves and for customers and keeping toilets to The Usual Place’s standards, as well as general customer service skills.
• In the retail store, the volunteer will learn skills in pricing products, taking stock, arranging shelves, till operations as well as how to keep the environment clean and safe for themselves and customers.

After trialling each sector, the volunteer can pick their favourite to work in for their remaining six weeks.

At the end of this twelve-week placement the volunteer, if they so choose, will become a trainee at The Usual Place.

They will continue to gain life and work skills and experience while working towards an SVQ with a choice of professional cookery, hospitality services, retail services and facilities services.

Find out more by calling 01387 253485 or emailing admin@theusualplace.org