Who We Work With

Scarf provides front of house training opportunities to young people (18-28 years) seeking protection, and those from refugee or migrant backgrounds facing barriers to work. 

We accept trainee referrals from organisations like Centre for Multicultural Youth, Red Cross, Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Foundation House, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Orygen Youth Health, Life Without Barriers and SAIL.

We also have a lot of young people self-refer to the program, or we’re contacted by a parent, teacher, sibling or friend. If an applicant meets our eligibility criteria they’ll be offered an interview for an upcoming program. 

“Scarf offers a very realistic hospitality experience. One client was recently offered a trial in a cafe – he said that if it wasn’t for his Scarf training, he would have really struggled and felt overwhelmed, and possibly not shown up at all. The Scarf model is more flexible and adaptable to individual needs.”

Brotherhood of St. Laurence case worker

To be eligible to apply for a trainee position at Scarf, you must be:

• from a refugee or migrant background, or waiting on a protection outcome
• between 18 - 28 years of age
• able to commit to the whole 10-week program of training sessions and Scarf Dinners, and up to six months of post-program support
• long-term unemployed (job seeker for 12 months or more, if in Australia for more than 12 months. If you are newly arrived, this does not apply) 
• able to read and write in English
• able to speak conversational English
• interested in learning about and working in hospitality
• keen to transition to a job in hospitality
• comfortable learning about and serving alcohol (if a young person is not comfortable learning about and serving alcohol, Scarf is not the right program, as much of our training involves alcohol)
• happy to work in a culturally diverse environment with males and females
• able to independently travel to and from different venues  

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Want to be a trainee at Scarf?

We're not currently accepting trainee applications; current restaurant restrictions and social distancing requirements mean we're unable to run programs at present. As soon as we can start accepting new applications, we'll update this page and make an announcement on Scarf's social media. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram to ensure you're across the latest Scarf news. 

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Cover image: Autumn Scarf '19 trainees at The Rochey. Photo by Linsey Rendell