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We believe that hospitality can transform lives.

We knew heaps of young people hungry for hospitality jobs but facing barriers to getting them. We brought them together with mentors keen to share knowledge and networks, then mixed in sponsors and restaurants ready to create a new kind of dining experience.

We created the first Scarf Dinners season. It was a recipe for success.

Now Scarf pops up in a new Melbourne restaurant every season. Young people get hands-on experience and real confidence to get real industry jobs. They do it in a space where creativity thrives, individuality reigns and high fives are just part of the process.

Diners love seeing the training and mentoring in action, love being part of something much bigger, and love the moveable feast that is Scarf.

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Why did Scarf start?

Whilst working in hospitality and volunteering with the refugee community in 2009, Scarf co-founders Hannah Brennan and Jess Moran observed firsthand how hard it can be for newly arrived young people to secure employment. We were meeting heaps of amazing, resilient and determined young people from refugee backgrounds who just wanted to get a job. But they couldn't even get a foot in the door. This made us angry. These young people were keen and willing to learn and they had a great attitude - qualities that we knew our own employers were looking for. But no-one would even give them an interview, let alone a trial shift. 

We started looking at research and learned that unemployment rates amongst humanitarian migrants can be staggeringly high – up to 43%. More research revealed that young people from asylum seeker, refugee and migrant backgrounds faced significant barriers to employment and economic participation including: lack of local work experience and references, English as a second or third language (low English level), mental health complexities due to trauma backgrounds, limited knowledge of employment pathways in Australia, caring responsibilities (disproportionately affecting female refugees), homelessness, discrimination and unconscious bias, and lack of confidence due to breaks in education or employment.

We saw consistent evidence that young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds and young people seeking asylum are not adequately served by traditional Job Service Agencies which often lack cultural competency. "A major challenge for refugees and other newly arrived migrants is understanding the local labour market. A lack of local work experience, awareness about the job search methods, local referees and lack of social networks all present barriers to employment." (Lenette & Ingamells, 2013; Colic-Peisker & Tilbury, 2003).

We became determined to start breaking down these barriers. We were frustrated at the injustice but hopeful that change was possible. In September 2010, Scarf was founded with the support of a bunch of generous hospitality workers and businesses who believed, as we did, that things could be better.

Our first program was the Scarf Pilot Program in Spring 2010. We had eight trainees take part, and within three months of graduating, seven of them were in meaningful employment. After some initial evaluation supported by Grace McQuilten (founder of The Social Studio), we created the Scarf 10-week Seasonal Program model. The rest, as they say, is history! 

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See Scarf's latest statistics and social impact. 

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Learn more about Scarf in this 2017 video, 'Inside 7 Years of Scarf', by Roger Ungers.

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Cover Photo: Scarf Strategic Planning day '18. Photographer: Linsey Rendell