It has been another busy week for our Future Finders students who have been working hard on their placements. Our new cafe at the Guinness Partnership has enjoyed its first full week and I am delighted to bring you an inside look from Jason. Regular readers of the blog will know that Jason has been working at the Guinness Partnership for several months now, helping to run the pop up cafe while the main cafe was refurbished – let’s see what he thinks about the changes..

A Day in the Life of Jason 
The Guinness Partnership – Roxy Café

After travelling independently from home to the Roxy Café at Guinness Partnership, I arrive about 9.30am and go to the reception area to collect my badge and sign in, ready to start my working day. Although I don’t start till 10.00am, I like to get there a little earlier as Julie and Hannah make toast and we have a catch-up. The Roxy Café is now complete and based on the first floor. I am given an electronic fob, this allows me to go on all floors when I do the trolley run or take out the waste.

I have been in the new café for just over a week now and it’s all brand new and very shiny. It’s a very busy café and there are so many jobs to do, but the staff always have time for me and support me with all the new tasks. I start by washing my hands, as you are all aware we are very concerned about what’s been on the news over the last few weeks and the dangers of the coronavirus. We are all on high alert around cleanliness and keeping the café clean and safe for all the customers and staff.

One of my main jobs which I really enjoy is working on the iPad and taking orders. There are more food choices in the new café and these have been added to the iPad, so I am getting used to all the new icons and prices. I have to make sure that I charge the customers the right amount and give them the correct change. The customers are getting to know me and I am getting more confident in communicating and serving.

Other tasks for the morning include pot washing, filling up the vending machines, taking out the waste and going on the trolley run. I have to stock up the trolley with drinks/fruit/crisps/chocolate first..

I start with a set amount of money from the main till and when we go to each floor, we write down everything that is sold. Afterwards we add this to the amount we set off with – it’s a good way of making sure that the till will balance when we total everything onto the iPad.

The café also has a good selection of cold sandwiches/food in the fridges and keeping these stocked is another job that needs to be completed throughout the day, as well as keeping an eye on the drinks and crisps. We have our lunch early, which enables me to be on hand for the rush hour around 12.00 when we all help out. We all have set areas to work at.

I really like the new café and the staff are great. Julie and Hannah are also very busy but they always have time to have a chat and let me know that I am doing a good job.

In the mornings I check all the vending machines on floor 1 and floor 3. I make a list of what I need to take, then refill the machines with drinks and chocolate bars. I have to check the dates, making sure they are all in the correct place as prices are different for the drinks and chocolate.

When the customers have finished their lunch, it’s tidy up time; tables to be wiped, chairs put back, pots to be washed, re-stocking and cleaning up. I am now finding a routine and working independently with the tasks, it’s a great place to work and I have learned so many new skills. I am thinking for the future this is what I would like to do. I hope you get chance to pop down and see the café and our team. Have a great weekend.

On Monday our students will be taking part in an exciting project which is linked to our ever growing enterprise, the portable ‘Flexi-Space’ for events. They will be busy making and creating, using projectors to create large scale drawings and sewing machines to create inflatables and banners. More about this in my blog next week!

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Jaina
Head of College

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You can view our previous blog entries here