Bakery promotes inclusive culture by providing employment to young adults with disabilities
Aregak Bakery & Cafe is a thoughtful project to promote inclusiveness in the workforce. This project became a reality in 2018 through a grant to the Emili Aregak Center from the European Union. The Center focuses on fostering the integration of children with disabilities and their families into society. It not only provides employment to young adults with disabilities but also to mothers of youth with disabilities since they also struggle with unemployment, isolation and lack of support. Aregak Bakery is a valuable pillar of our society that is motivating an inclusive workforce and providing an encouraging message to other companies and industries to enhance inclusiveness for the betterment of the community.
Thank you Aregak Bakery for your time and useful tips. Your positive steps towards an inclusive workforce are inspirational. More Info
Eleven people with disabilities have held positions at the bakery, and seven currently work with us as baking assistants, baristas, waiters, cashiers and cleaners.
Work related questions:
Q: What kind of recruiting process is in place to employ candidates with disabilities?
A: Nearly all of our employees with disabilities are graduates of "9 Steps to the Labour Market," an employment preparation course tailored for people with disabilities. Emili Aregak runs this 9-week program in tandem with the local State Employment Service, which not only helps with recruitment of students, but provides skilled trainers. In this course, young adults learn and practice everything from self-confidence, work ethics and managing time, to resume writing, job hunting and interviewing. After course completion, young adults are given opportunities for study and internship; some of our current employees who completed the "9 Steps" course chose culinary training at a local vocational school and/or a culinary internship. Eight students of the course were offered an internship at the bakery to help them understand the nature of the work and determine whether they would like to work there in the future. Their interests and ability levels determined their placement.
Q: What kind of training is given to new employees to get them ready for the job? What is the usual training duration?
A: Partnership has always been at the core of the Aregak model. We strongly believe that people with and without disabilities have much to teach each other. From the beginning, pastry experts, skilled baristas and restaurant owners lent their skills and trained our staff pro bono.
Our mothers of youth with disabilities are primarily responsible for pastry making. Their whole adult lives have been devoted to training and guiding their own children with disabilities; thus, they are natural guides for our younger staff. It is also worth mentioning that we intentionally structure our workforce so that our employees with more severe disabilities always have an employee without disabilities available as a mentor. Regarding the training time frame, it is difficult to generalize as our staff have different needs and skills; some take more time to learn than others. For example, our baking assistant Mikayel was a beneficiary of our Emili Aregak Center and worked there in the kitchen with our staff from the age of 16 years old. He began working full time at our bakery from the age of 20. Most of other other staff members have undergone 3-6 months of training. We believe that training is an ongoing process.
Q: What is the general skill set that you look for in a candidate with disabilities?
A: We seek out young adults with a positive attitude, a willingness to learn, a readiness to contribute their skills, and a good blend of confidence and humility. The "9 Steps" course and internship period provide an excellent environment for the development and revelation of these skills.
Q: What is your suggestion/tips for families of children with disabilities who want to get their kids ready for employment?
A: First, parents should accept their child. They must have faith and confidence in him or her. If a parent does not believe that his or her child can learn, develop skills and become successfully employed, the child will not believe in him or herself.
A person with disabilities is not a problem to be solved, but a person with unique interests. Parents and teachers should seek to understand and take time to help children with disabilities uncover their inherent abilities and help them find opportunities to develop those skills.
Q: What is the best way to accelerate awareness and promote an inclusive workforce?
A: This takes a concerted effort. On our part, we work to promote the social model of disability to show that youth with disabilities are not problems to be fixed. Instead, society is what hampers them from reaching their full potential by placing barriers in their paths. This is in contrast to the medical and charity models, which state respectively that people with disabilities need to be medically treated or that they need to be supported charitably. Through our efforts, we advance the belief system that people with disabilities are people first, and worthy of dignity.
We encourage the media to seek out and promote stories of people with disabilities showing their skills and succeeding in the workplace. Businesses need to take a chance and be open to hiring qualified people with disabilities. In order for people with disabilities to gain skills, schools need to be inclusive, not only in name, but in reality. This means that schools must be physically accessible and have staff trained to properly include and promote the learning of kids with disabilities.
We encourage the media to seek out and promote stories of people with disabilities showing their skills and succeeding in the workplace. Businesses need to take a chance and be open to hiring qualified people with disabilities. In order for people with disabilities to gain skills, schools need to be inclusive, not only in name, but in reality. This means that schools must be physically accessible and have staff trained to properly include and promote the learning of kids with disabilities.
Sarah Stites from Aregak Bakery narrates a revealing personal experience: A big lesson that our waiters, Hovhannes and Grisha, taught her. From a young age, I understood that people with disabilities are individuals with personalities and skillsets who are made in the image of God. What really didn’t hit home for me until I worked alongside Hovhannes and Grisha is that they are not only skilled, but uniquely skilled to be waiters!
Hovhannes is one of the most joyous people I know! He bursts with life; his face is always poised for a smile. He makes customers feel like a million bucks. Grisha is so attentive, he’ll notice you’re missing a napkin or spoon before you do.
Both of these young men are much better at their jobs than I could ever be in the same position. And yet, I am fully “abled.” They are also incredibly thankful for their work and they never take it for granted. For the first six months in which he was employed, Hovhannes would cry every time he received his monthly paycheck because he simply couldn't believe that someone like him had a stable job.
