Starting in late 2023, General Manager, Lorraine Sneller and her team at Cloister Kitchen & Garden launched a brand-new hospitality training partnership at the Cathedral with local charity Aldingbourne Trust. For over a year now, the Seasoned team has provided paid work experience training placements through the Trust’s award-winning WorkAid scheme for people who have disabilities in the hospitality and catering sector. The four-week programme allows participants to try all aspects of working in a popular café venue, including front of house, kitchen porter roles and chefing, enabling them to realise their strengths, skills and potential as well as identifying talented future employees for the industry.

The programme has given paid work experience to 10 local people who each embarked on a one-month placement where they had access to support from a specialist WorkAid Employment Consultant to help with interviews, onboarding and progression, a work ‘buddy’ to help mentor them and offer peer support, as well as a programme booklet to record the skills and experiences they gain throughout their placement. At the end of their placement, each participant received support to plan ahead for how they will use their new skills moving forward as they apply for roles in the sector. 

Rachel Benson, WorkAid Manager at Aldingbourne Trust said “Seasoned’s commitment to Social Goodness is not only helping people we support, it is inspiring the next generation of catering colleagues. Together we are creating a valuable step into catering careers for many people who would otherwise find it extremely difficult to access jobs in the sector and showing our local communities how sustainable recruitment can work at its finest.”