Bread Collective baking programme moves 49% of participants into jobs

The Bread Collective, a baking programme for former refugees in Aotearoa, has an overall employment placement rate of 49% across its cohorts to date.

Since the programme began, 79 participants have completed it. Of the 21 participants in the two most recent cohorts, 12 moved into employment. Foundation North describes the result as a significant achievement in a year when rising unemployment has made entry-level roles harder to win.

For a former refugee arriving in Aotearoa, work can bring routine, independence, purpose, friendships and a sense of belonging, as well as income. That understanding sits at the heart of the Bread Collective.

How the programme works

The programme lasts six weeks and runs three times a year. Each group is small, at around 10 participants, so the team can offer personalised support. That includes baking training, pastoral care, language support, employment preparation and advocacy.

Each week, participants learn from a different baker or employer. They pick up the basics of breadmaking, from kneading and proofing to using ovens and equipment.

Employers come into the classroom instead of meeting participants for the first time at a formal interview. They bake alongside participants, use recipes and demonstrate techniques. The Bread Collective sees this as a way of challenging assumptions and normalising difference.

The programme also gives participants time to get used to daily life in Aotearoa, such as using buses and trains and building a new routine. A dedicated employment law session, with translation support, covers workplace rights, leave entitlements and how people should be treated at work.

The team also creates an individual profile for each participant. It draws on observations from the programme, photographs and video introductions. The Bread Collective recognises that a traditional CV does not always show the full range of someone’s abilities. The profiles aim to help employers understand the person behind the CV and reduce some unconscious bias in recruitment.

What comes next

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and Woolworths have supported the programme with access to facilities, baking opportunities and employment connections.

The Bread Collective now plans to establish a baking-based social enterprise by 2028. The idea is a bakery that earns income to help sustain the programme. It would also offer paid internships and jobs for former refugees across the food and hospitality sector.

Participants would rotate through different roles. They would develop skills in baking, barista work, front-of-house service and English language communication in a real workplace.