Woodlands Meed College student Mollie recently spent a morning at Lindfield Coffee Works learning about the work of a Barista, all about Coffee, as well as getting some hands on practice at growing her skills at making the perfect espresso.

Dan at the Lindfield Coffee Works spent the morning with Mollie guiding her through the fascinating world of coffee from its origins, roasting processes to how they make the perfect espresso at the Coffee Works.  Mollie said, about her taste of work experience in the popular Café and Coffee hub,   

‘I found the training really interesting. When I watch coffee being made in a coffee shop it always looks very complicated but now I have done it myself, and each process has been taught to me, the process is very logical and less chaotic than it looks!’  

Kris, owner of the Coffee Works, has supported Woodlands Meed efforts to match students with relevant work experience to give them a real idea of jobs they may like to be involved in in the future.  He commented,

‘We’ve really enjoyed working with Woodlands Meed.  We want to provide students with two things; a little knowledge around the world of coffee e.g. where it’s grown & processed and an appreciation of the challenges farmers face. We also want to provide them specific Barista skills, from preparing the coffee to steaming the milk which will enable them to include this training on their CV’s and help them stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs.  Mollie was our first student we welcomed and she was amazing.  She was very enthusiastic and willing to learn about the coffee and picked up the Barista skills very quickly!’ 

Businesses like the Coffee Works help in giving young people with SEND a chance to experience hands on work experience and learn some new skills make a huge difference to young people with SEND. 

Woodlands Meed have an ambitious Careers Programme as part of their initiatives to help prepare and get students and young people into work placements along with developing and delivering a progressive and meaningful programme of learning, working with employers and external partners.  Working with local businesses like the Lindfield Coffee Works with a passion for recognising the potential of people, like Mollie, with SEND in the world of work and the value of giving young people an opportunity to make a valued contribution to society.