Students shine in Gusto work experience client day
After months of training, a group of students from Inscape House School impressed their families and teachers with their hospitality skills: from taking orders to making drinks and serving.
Dressed in smart branded clothing and equipped with tablets, they welcomed the guests as they came in and showed them to their table. Mason, Idris, Michael and Matthew were tasked with taking orders and bringing food and drink to the tables, while Amy and Holly worked on the bar, mixing mocktails and making coffee. Together, they created the 5-star experience you can expect from the real Gusto team.
M, one of our students, says “Today has been a great day. I loved serving my family. I’m hoping to do the experience again next year.”
The client day is the final step in an 8-week long programme by Gusto Italian, that sees our amazing autistic students from Inscape House School experience multiple aspects of working in a restaurant. After a taster day at school, where Frannie and Mike show students how to make mocktails and pizzas, students are then invited to go through mock interviews. Through the 8 weeks they get to learn more in a restaurant setting. Idris says “My favourite tasks were making drinks, making pizzas and taking orders. I had a good time!”
During the programme they have been under the expert guidance of Mikey, former Training Manager at Gusto and Frannie, Manager of the Cheadle Hulme Branch. Mikey is dyslexic and understands the importance of tackling the barriers autistic people face in the workplace. He shares that it is valuable for him to prove to the students from Inscape House School what they are all capable of with the right support.
Despite starting the day a little anxious, all students managed to face their fears and perform their tasks in a professional manner. To celebrate the end of their programme, they were given certificates and chef paper hats that they threw in the air to celebrate their graduation.
Marie, Careers Teacher at Inscape House School says “This is the third year that Gusto have delivered this work experience programme and again it was outstanding. It has been amazing to observe how engaged and enthusiastic our pupils have been throughout this journey.
Not only have the pupils developed their practical skills, but their confidence and self-esteem has grown especially when planning for their future careers. Watching them rise to the challenge of their first client day with such professionalism has made me immensely proud. Working with the Gusto team has been an absolute pleasure.”
Inscape House School’s collaboration with the restaurant chain Gusto strives to give the autistic students a chance to prove themselves in the workplace but also motivate employers to foster a more inclusive environment and tackle preconceived notions and unconscious biases about autism.
Read more about career education and how we prepare our students for adulthood.
Can your business offer work experience placements to students with autism in Greater Manchester?
Get in touch with Marie Young
e: marie.young@togethertrust.org.uk
t: 0161 283 4750