TAFE Course - any opinions?

[coffeelust]

A friend is interested in doing a 6-hour TAFE espresso making course with a view to getting a job in a cafe. Does anybody have experience of this course (number 24018)?

Do any of you who hire trainee baristas have TAFE certificates that you smile upon?

Just thinking TAFE at this stage due to rural location.

Thanks

[Mono]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

Just thinking TAFE at this stage due to rural location.

Thanks

Im actually booked to attend a coffee course at our local TAFE college on Thursday night (4 hours) not sure of the course #. I, as you am going this way as its a 2.25 hour drive to our Melbourne sponsors. Will post on Friday with my thoughts. Hopefully the "teacher" will have some "passion" for the product. :

Steve.

[Crisp_image]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

The prepare and serve espresso course should be about 20hrs. What your TAFE may be offering is an introduction to espresso and may not include a certificate of cometence at the end only a certificate of attendance. Be wary of these short courses that clim to make you a Barista becaust they dont. The only way to become a Baristais practice and a passion for coffee. Did I mention practice.
I can make coffee but I do not call my self a Barista. I have still much to learn. The info that you get from TAFE may be benificial.
William Anglis institute offer the Full 20hr course and there is a work expireiance portion involved with that too.
Good luck in your persuit. I hope that you do well.
One closing note is that you shuld practice your skills any time you can.
Regards
Crisp Image

[Mono]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

What your TAFE may be offering is an introduction to espresso and may not include a certificate of cometence at the end only a certificate of attendance.  

Thanks CI, personally that is all I am after. All I want do be able to do is make good coffee that I, my friends and family can enjoy......and to be able to look after my equipment. If this evening doesnt provide a base to work from I will investigate other avenues, ie sponsors or professional baristas.

Cheers, Steve.

[A_M]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

What your TAFE may be offering is an introduction to espresso and may not include a certificate of cometence at the end only a certificate of attendance.  

Thanks CI, personally that is all I am after. All I want do be able to do is make good coffee that I, my friends and family can enjoy......and to be able to look after my equipment. If this evening doesnt provide a basde to work from I will investigate other avenues, ie sponsors or professional baristas.

Cheers, Steve.

4 hrs or even 20 in a class room and some hands on will assist... But will not mean that you can make great coffee..

They provide a broad over view and many of teh comments / rules are realy very general.. It is only once you know more and then understand that you dont know what you dont know; that you can grow..

That being said.. Your intent is good.. And it will start you on a path of learning...

The issue is that there are also trainers and then trainers.. Some I have met have got their training certificate and knowledge from a article in Choice...

[Mono]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

The issue is that there are also trainers and then trainers..  

.........Yep, and there lies my main reservation and the reason that I believe at some stage I will visit someone "more qualified"...........the tyranny of distance (and time) conspire against me :

Thanks AM

[coffeelust]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

yep - same here Mono. The guy who does the courses at TAFE here has a reputation for being passionate about coffee; runs a cafe and a roasting business. Im convinced enough to take a punt anyway.

Though I am considering winning the 10k snobs comp so I can get a course at Jetblack or somewhere...

[Mono]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

Go for it Luwaks, has to be worth the punt............and if he is as you have mentioned, should be good. I will report back after Thursday nights course.

Steve

[herbie]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

The Coffee Academy at William Angliss TAFE (as we say "Sponsors of C.Ss"...information about the courses offered on the left side of this post.) is well worth the time, effort and money. 2mcm was our teacher. His imparted knowledge of all things coffee made for great learning experiences. We started with "ABC of Espressoo Coffee" then graduated to "Prepare and Serve Espresso Coffee". The courses can only teach so much. The saying "practice makes perfect" goes hand in hand with learning. However one has to start somewhere. My Missus needed to gain the competency "Prepare and Serve Espresso Coffee" to deliver to her year 11/12 Hospitality students as part of their course so I went along for the ride. The rest as they say is history. The machines available to practice on are fantastic. The milk and coffee from the sponsors so good. the mabience great too. Go for it and enjoy the acquired knowledge.....all on the path to serving a great coffee.

[Thundergod]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

A friend is interested in doing a 6-hour TAFE espresso making course with a view to getting a job in a cafe.

I got a job in a cafe without a TAFE certificate.
I had done another course but the main thing that got me in was that I showed a passion for making coffee (and a successful demo on the machine helped too).

Im not saying your friend shouldnt do the course but that the certificate itself wont get them a job.

[Rocky]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

I did a Barista course (18hrs) at my local TAFE before making the final buying decision on my espresso machine. Up to that point I had done as much research on coffee as I could without actually having operated a machine, and I wanted to fill in that last gap in my knowledge before parting with the bucks.
The course was very valuable on many levels.
It showed me why so much cafe coffee is rubbish:
1. The "Baristas" just dont care - some dont even drink coffee.
2. There was insufficient emphasis on the importance of good beans, fresh beans, fresh grind.
3. There was insufficient emphasis on monitoring the quality of coffee that was being produced.
4. There was minimal emphasis on the relationship between grind & tamp & its impact on quality.
The value was that the course made me think more about a whole range of issues that I was trying to sort into some of coherent context, and the experience on a commercial machine gave me a frame of reference (few similarities) for my own machine when it arrived.
Definitely worth the money but just one piece in the puzzle.
Good luck.

[scoota_gal]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

yep - same here Mono.  The guy who does the courses at TAFE here has a reputation for being passionate about coffee; runs a cafe and a roasting business.  Im convinced enough to take a punt anyway.  

Though I am considering winning the 10k snobs comp so I can get a course at Jetblack or somewhere...

If its who I think it is...and where I think that your "friend" is wanting to do it...sure they should get the absolute basic TAFE course info. When you see places like William Angliss running their course as a 20 hour course, then you know that it really is going to cover everything just that little bit more.

Ive been to various courses over the years and even in the time frame that theyve had, theyve never really been able to cover everything you wanted to know or do. Theres just so much in it. So, nothing really beats experience and my other fave way of learning...osmosis. ;D (you know, the experience of hanging around fellow baristi and/or roasters and just talking coffee!)

Im yet to hear of anyone in the region hiring on a TAFE certificate in regards to having someone make coffee in their cafe. I know that if faced with the choice of a barista or a person with a piece of paper, Id probably hire the barista over the piece of paper. However, thats because Im a little more in the know about this, whereas a lot of people in the bush are only starting to get in the know...theyre probably more likely to hire on a piece of paper.  It never hurts to get one!  

If you want more info on your possible TAFE trainer...PM me.

[Mono]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

Well, sat through my 4 hour TAFE course last night. Im a newb with this subject but there were times when my meager knowledge was greater than our trainers. Out of 8 "students" attending I was the only one there learning for myself, the others where either working in local cafes or restaurants or hoping to. I did learn how to make other varieties of espresso based drinks and about Skybury Coffee in Cairns. Certainly improved my milk technique. At the end of the day I wouldnt have bothered if Id known what I was to be shown but by the same token it wasnt a total wast of time. I also asked her about scale problems with the local water supply..........she had no idea

Steve

[coffeelust]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

Thanks Steve. Thats pretty much what I figured. Makes me grateful for CS as our knowledge/technique/equipment have improved about 500% since signing up just a few months ago.

Our friend is pretty new to the whole coffee thing, so I reckon itd be the goods for her anyway. At the very least, it cant make her LESS likely to get a job!

[Mono]

Re: TAFE Course - any opinions?

Yeah for someone looking for an introduction to the coffee industry it would be an ideal start

Steve