Applicants can find their own work
placements or have one allocated to
them. Prior to their job interview, they
will be invited to a workshop to
enhance their communication, time-
management and CV-writing skills.
The volunteer
Montell-Diego Higgins-Chen volunteered
as a play worker before succeeding in
his job interview with Starbucks, where
he now works as a barista. He plans to
study engineering at university and
credits the programme with boosting
his confidence.
“I learned a lot of skills around time
management, met some great people
and was kept busy looking after 40
children a day,” he says, admitting that
he had originally intended to volunteer
in construction.
“HeadStart has helped me prepare
for university interviews, as I now have
a lot more to talk about. I found the
Starbucks interview refreshing as it was
more about getting to know my
personality traits than qualifications.”
The employer view
Starbucks is one of HeadStart’s founding
corporate partners, with 2,500 young
people choosing the coffee giant for
their job interview. Of these, some 30%
have taken up a job with Starbucks.
“HeadStart is all about helping
young people to make a positive
impact in their community and
improving employability skills. With 50%
of our partners aged under 25, we’re
committed to creating opportunities,”
says Russell Butcher, senior manager for
education and skills at Starbucks.
He believes it’s crucial that schools
equip pupils with basic skills such as
communication, time management
and adaptability, explaining that
Starbucks hires on attitude. “You can
learn a lot of things when you begin
working, but being resilient, a good
communicator, and having a can-
do attitude can go a long way.”
Butcher also wants young
people to be fully apprised of all
routes into work, pointing out that
a university or college education
isn’t for everyone – a fact borne out
by a recent Sutton Trust survey of
secondary school pupils, which
shows an 11% drop in those planning
to attend university since 2013.
This requires businesses and
educators to work together to stress
the experiential and developmental
b e n e f i t s o f a p p re n t i c e s h i p s ,
volunteering and school-leaver
programmes. Butcher says this is
particularly important in the retail
industry, which has a high staff turnover.
“One of the key things in our industry
is to invest in our people. One in five of
our apprenticeship graduates (1,000
apprentices have graduated from
Starbucks since 2012) goes on to
achieve an in-work promotion. It’s very
possible for a young person to progress
from barista to store supervisor or
manager within a number of years or
even months,” he says.
EMPLOYABILITY
QUICK
• Young people need
encounters with workplaces.
• Volunteering provides
employability skills
and confidence.
• Here is a practical example
of how volunteering can
lead to a job.
Learning about yourself
Ultimately, volunteering provides
young people with a chance to
develop their employability skills in a
real working environment; the space to
think about their careers and to test out
their skills. For Higgins-Chen, it helped
him to learn more about himself.
“I learned that if you don’t initially get
what you want, don’t be discouraged.
You might find something you’d never
have thought of but really enjoy. Give
every opportunity your all.”
Russell Butcher,
Starbucks:
“Having a can-do
attitude goes a
long way”
ABOUT STARBUCKS
Starbucks employs more
than 14,000 people in
the UK, with 50% aged
under 25. Alongside its
HeadStart partnership,
it also offers an
apprenticeship
scheme at levels 2-6.
starbucks.co.uk/promo/
apprenticeship
HEADSTART
HeadStart connects young people to local volunteering opportunities and provides
a guaranteed job interview to those completing 16-plus hours of their time with
organisations such as Starbucks. The scheme operates across London,
Birmingham and Manchester. To find out more, visit www.heads tart-thechallenge.org
FUTURE TALENT // 33