Scarf provides front-of-house hospitality training, mentoring and paid work experience opportunities to young people (18-28 years) seeking protection, and those from refugee or migrant backgrounds facing barriers to work. Our programs also focus on general job-readiness and all training and mentoring is delivered through our Trauma-Informed framework. 

We now have an open-all-year-round Expression of Interest form which will take around 5 minutes to complete. If you're a young person who's keen to join us in a future Scarf program, please share your details here, and a friendly Scarf team member will be in touch with you soon:

 Sign me up

Many of our program participants find out about Scarf via organisations like Centre for Multicultural Youth, River Nile School, Red Cross, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Foundation House, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Orygen Youth Health, Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre and SAIL.

We strongly encourage potential trainees to self-refer to our program using our online form, but we welcome enquiries from case workers and other support people, parents, teachers, siblings or friends. If you'd like to enquire about our programs and trainee eligibility, please contact Scarf's Program and Wellbeing Manager, Neil Baxendale ([email protected] / 0479 038 240). If an applicant meets our eligibility criteria they’ll be encouraged to apply online and 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

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

• be from a refugee or migrant background, or seeking asylum (waiting on a protection outcome)
• be between 18 - 28 years of age
  We can occasionally make an exception on this age range; please reach out to Scarf's Program and Wellbeing Manager, Neil Baxendale: [email protected] / 0479 038 240
• have had at least two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine approved or recognised by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and be willing to take a Rapid Antigen Test (provided by Scarf) before engaging in any face-to-face training
• be willing to adhere to Scarf's Covid-safety policies and procedures (including mask-wearing and strict hygiene and physical distancing requirements in line with DHHS recommendations)
• be able to commit to all training sessions for the program you are applying for, and keen to engage in 3 - 6 months of post-program employment support
• be long-term unemployed (six months or more) or at risk of long-term unemployment due to barriers including limited English, limited knowledge of local job market, mental health issues, lack of local work experience/references, etc.
  We can also offer trainee positions to those who are in unstable, casual employment, especially where unfair work conditions are occurring.
  
• have basic reading and writing skills, and speak conversational English
  We recommend that all participants have an Intermediate level of English to be able to meaningfully engage with Scarf program content. If you have questions about this, please contact Scarf's Program and Wellbeing Manager, Neil Baxendale: [email protected] / 0479 038 240
• be interested in learning about and working in hospitality
• be keen to transition to a job and ready to put lots of time and energy into job-seeking
• be comfortable learning about and serving alcohol, if applying for the 10-week Seasonal Program or Scarf Tasting Plate
  If you're not comfortable learning about and serving alcohol, our Skill Up with Scarf program might be the best option, as it focuses on coffee-making and does not involve training with alcohol or serving alcohol
• be happy to work in a culturally diverse environment with males and females
• be able to independently travel to and from different venues (Scarf training mainly happens at hospitality venues in Melbourne's CBD and inner-city suburbs)  
  

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If you have any questions about eligibility, please contact Neil Baxendale, Scarf's Program and Wellbeing Manager - [email protected] / 0479 038 240.

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Want to be a trainee at Scarf?

You can sign up here to receive information about future trainee intakes. We also encourage you to follow us on Facebook or Instagram to ensure you're across the latest Scarf news. We are currently accepting trainee applications for Skill Up with Scarf - Summer '22. 

 Apply Now

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