Growth & Jobs | MultiCare Youth Foundation graduates brew up a storm at Starbucks

FOUR YOUNG Jamaican baristas working with Starbucks Jamaica have many good things to say about their employer. Georgie Baker, 28, recalls being impressed during her first day on the job with the hands-on approach of the Starbucks managers – and the fact that they are not above any tasks.

Nineteen-year-old Oshane Allen appreciates the teamwork, the fact that staff are treated like family and are called partners (as Starbucks calls its employees).

For Kimone Quarrie, 26, it really matters to her that the team feels appreciated and that when difficulties arise, managers work alongside staff, teaching the partners that if “we all have to work together and support each other, that’s how we win”. And Joshua Miller, also 26, says that working with Starbucks is a dream come true for him. One of the great things about the dream come true, he says, is the company policy of treating its partners (employees) well and giving them room to grow not only as professionals, but also as individuals.

Starbucks YUTE

Starbucks Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) Work Project in Kingston offered 30 young Jamaicans four months of classroom and practical training and a three-month internship placement. A one-year mentorship component, plus critical life-skills training geared at preparing the students for the workplace are also part of the programme.

Georgie, Oshane, Kimone, and Joshua impressed the Starbucks team during the internship and were offered full time employment with the company. These four graduates continue to do the Starbucks YUTE Work Project proud and demonstrate the results of hard work and commitment.

Alicia Glasgow Gentles, executive director of The MultiCare Youth Foundation, of which YUTE is a programme, said the Starbucks YUTE Work Project is a unique initiative of coordinated partners in the private sector, civil society, and the public sector, who have come together to provide multifaceted opportunities for unattached youth.

Starbucks has been partnering with The MultiCare Youth Foundation since launching in Jamaica in 2017. The third partner is the HEART Trust NTA, which provides the training and National Vocational Qualification Jamaica certification for the participants in Food and Beverage – Level 2.

The four graduates of the programme, who are now proud Starbucks baristas, were unable to finish their education because of financial or other problems. They faced many early challenges and were either in dead-end jobs or unemployed. The Starbucks YUTE Work Project provided an opportunity, of which they took full advantage.

Georgie, a barista with the Starbucks Liguanea branch, lives in Swallowfield in mid-town Kingston. She had completed two years studying food-service management at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), when her mother died in 2015. With two children to support, and without her mother’s assistance, she had to drop out of college. She had been out of work for months when a friend told her about the Starbucks YUTE Work Project. She says, “My long-term goal is still to go into management, but I want to grow within this company before I go back to my studies.”

Oshane’s Journey

Oshane Allen, a barista at the Starbucks at Fontana Pharmacy on Waterloo Road, has always been interested in food. The Portmore resident did well in food and nutrition at Bridgeport High School and earned pocket money selling his mango juice to other students and teachers. After completing high school, he worked at the school as a lab technician then got a job as a filing clerk.

His career goal was to be a Level Five executive chef, working in a restaurant or on a ship, but he could not afford the training. When he learned about the Starbucks YUTE Work Project on Instagram, he was happy to resign his filing job and to apply.

“This project is a good thing because I needed to be certified, and I know that to pay for a course like this, it would cost me a certain amount of money. They helped me by offering it free and giving me lunch, plus, I am learning new things,” Allen said.

“I love my job as a Starbucks barista,” says Kimone, who lives in Vineyard Town and works at the New Kingston Starbucks store. Kimone, who is also the mother of a nine-year-old daughter, had to leave school because she was pregnant. When a friend told her about the Starbucks YUTE Work Project, she assumed that food-related skills would be an asset to her proposed venture in event planning. Kimone is grateful for the many benefits of the training, internship, and her job. But for her, the big winner has been the customer-service training, which has made her much more outgoing.

“Before, I would always stay by myself,” she shared. “Now, I want to stay vibrant, helping the customers, helping people. I never used to smile much because I didn’t have a smiling background. So now, I have a smile, and that’s how I want to be!”

Joshua Miller of the Board Villa community near to Cross Roads in Kingston was unable to finish high school because of financial reasons. After a distressing period doing manual labour on construction sites, he got a job filing with a printing company – better, but not on the creative career path he had in mind. Neither was a training programme in food service, but the minute Joshua heard that Starbucks was one of the sponsors, he said, “I thought it would be so good to work with Starbucks!” Now, working as a barista at the Starbucks Liguanea store, he reports being even more inspired when the company’s policies were explained to him. He recalls: “Starbucks looks out for their employees. They treat them the best, give them the best, and give them room to grow as individuals and with the company. That spoke to me. I like to grow and to improve. This environment and the head space is very comforting and uplifting. It gives you a good feeling and a good energy.”