Building a Career in Coffee: Overview from the second United Baristas Roundtable
In November 2016 we gathered twelve talents from across the coffee community to talk about opportunities and challenges when building a career in coffee
Background
This was the second United Baristas Roundtable. The first took place in March 2016 with founders, directors and senior staff from a variety of coffee businesses.
The Roundtables take place under the Chatham House Rule, which means:
“participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speakers, nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.”
We publish an overview of each Roundtable so that the findings and ideas can be shared with a wider audience and to further conversations.
Attendees
- The attendees were invited to attend the Roundtable because they are rising talents in a range of coffee businesses
- Attendees worked in a variety of roles, but typically had more than five years industry experience
It’s important to note that they are not a representative sample of the industry; the objective was to understand the opportunities and challenges facing people actively building a career in coffee so that they might be better equipped and supported
- The majority have moved to London
- Significant proportion are from outside the UK
- Majority are seeking to build a life and career in the London coffee sector
Sector Identification
- The vast majority identified themselves as working in ‘coffee’
- This is to be contrasted with the previous Roundtable were the majority of business owners and managers identified as having hospitality businesses
United Baristas comment
- The desire to identify a sector as ‘coffee’ seems to be in part driven by a desire to separate the industry from some perceptions of the hospitality industry
- Is the uncertainty around the sector creating confusion for customers or employees?
Education
- Range of educational attainment extended from secondary education to post-graduate degrees
- The majority of the tertiary educated have obtained degrees in the arts or humanities
- Most fell into a job in the industry and have stayed because they have enjoyed the work
Engagement
- Majority enjoyed their work
- Majority saw themselves as working in the sector for at least the coming 12 months
Values
- Strong belief that all people should be valued and that social skills are an important life skill, as well as an important skill for their work
- Appreciation of the global nature and connection of the coffee industry
- Strong service culture across the facets of the coffee industry represented
- Perception that coffee was an innovative sector and a strong desire to be as close to the cusp as possible
Appreciation, Esteem & Value
- The vast majority felt that there was a lack of general appreciation for the skills required to work in coffee, with some even feeling their profession was looked down upon
- Many found their work personally meaningful and fulfilling
- There was a general perspective that the lack of esteem was a factor in lowering levels of pay
Career Paths
- While there were are variety of aspirations, there was not a shared or common agreement on medium-term prospects or the most appropriate career paths
- Many would be pleased to stay at the same place employment over the coming year, but many were keen to take on a new role in 2017 and expected their pay to modestly go up
- If their aspirations couldn’t be met internally they would consider other places of employment in the sector
- While many of the attendees felt well connected within the coffee industry, they also feel that there were ill-defined career paths and prospects, which creates a sense of uncertainty
United Baristas comment
- There is a strong focus on building a career in the retail, roasting, sourcing facets of the industry and less awareness of the career prospects available in general management and coffee support services
- Similar feedback was provided at the first Roundtable with many businesses struggling to recruit or internally promote into more senior or support roles
Training
- Many were seeking to acquire skills and knowledge through self leaning, often referring to online blogs and videos
- There was often relatively limited internal training structures
- But, many appreciated the on-the-job training and input provided by their employers despite its ad hoc and piecemeal nature
- Very mixed estimations of the value of SCAE qualifications, with the vast majority neither currently studying towards or having obtained an SCAE qualification
- The vast majority were primarily focused on acquiring additional coffee expertise, c.f. with learning general business skills, people management, sales or technical skills
Creating Value
In the first Roundtable we receive feedback from business owners and operators who saw commercial value as being created primarily at a management level. Consequently, we raised the challenge that if the attendees wished to see significant and sustained pay increases, they would have to be able to create greater financial value for their employers.
There was a broad ranging discussion on ways that greater commercial value might be created within coffee businesses.
It was agreed that we needed to continue this discussion in a follow up Roundtable in 2017.
What’s your experience?
Add your comments or share your story in our follow-on survey.
The United Baristas Coffee Careers Roundtable was made possible with the support of Espresso Solutions and La Marzocco — please think of them when you need parts, equipment or an espresso machine.
