Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER December 14, 2015 NEWS 9 Starbucks Canada brews up youth hiring initiatives But one critic suggests the initiative is more of a public relations exercise BY SABRINA NANJI BUDDING BARISTAS should rejoice — in mid-November, Starbucks Canada announced a plan to tackle rising youth unem- ployment. e coffeemaker said 10 per cent of all new hires would be chosen from a pool of young workers between 16 and 24 who are not working and not in school. e program was first piloted in Toronto in April and is expected to exceed its initial goal of 150 jobs for its first year (on top of the 109 young workers hired in the first six months). Montreal and Van- couver are next on the list of loca- tions, with other cities to follow. at the company is already one of the largest employers of 16- to 24-year-olds in the coun- try helped spur the initiative, said Sara Presutto, vice-president of partner resources at Starbucks Canada in Toronto. "ose two factors combined give us an opportunity to make a real difference." While Presutto said it is too ear- ly to publish numbers, it's evident thus far that the program's reten- tion rate is above average when weighted against the retention rate of regular employees. e program is important be- cause it fills a need, according to Luisa Girotto, Starbucks Canada's vice-president of public affairs in Toronto. "And the reason it was success- ful wasn't just because we're offer- ing a meaningful opportunity, it's because there's a need and we've barely just started to tap into it." The picture of youth unem- ployment is a grim one. In Can- ada, the unemployment rate for youth hovers around 13 per cent, compared to about 11 per cent in the United States. at is almost double Canada's overall unem- ployment rate, which was seven per cent in October, according to Statistics Canada. 2003 program Starbucks Canada has been in- volved in the youth employment circuit in some capacity since 2003. In conjunction with Pacific Community Resources Society (PCRS, a not-for-profit service headquartered in Vancouver) and Bladerunners (an Aboriginal youth-focused employment and skills training program), Star- bucks launched a baristas training program for disadvantaged youth in British Columbia. at provided the framework to roll out the plan nationally, and in June, PCRS celebrated the gradu- ation of its 500th barista from the program, which includes young people facing barriers such as lack of education, domestic violence or abuse, being newcomers to the job force and single mothers. About 75 per cent of those youth move on to full-time employment, sometimes at Starbucks, but also at other like employers, accord- ing to the program's facilitator, Alejandra Hergert in Surrey, B.C. Of the eight baristas in her last cohort, four were hired at the Starbucks franchise where they did their training, she said. As well, since September of last year, 28 workers were hired on at Star- bucks following the workshop and 23 remain current employees. "e whole point of the pro- gram is to make them employable, in customer service in general," said Hergert. PCRS's program stands apart from the national 10 per cent commitment because it includes an educational component, with participants spending five weeks in classroom training and four weeks at a Starbucks where they do almost everything full baris- tas do except operate the cash register. "ey learn life skills to begin with that help them to build a good foundation," said Judy Crooks, the program's co-ordinator at PCRS in Surrey. "ere are things like self-esteem, communication, con- flict resolution — things to really help them get through life. en we start with employability skills; how to make a resumé and cover letter, interview skills." That also includes technical training, such as certification for the Workplace Hazardous Mate- rials Information System (WH- MIS), food safety and first aid. Combined, Starbucks Canada's 10 per cent pledge and PCRS's program will see about 4,000 jobs and work placements created na- tionally over the next three years, SUSTAINABLE > pg. 12

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