Dundee restaurant Tim Hortons may be best known for coffee and boxes of timbits. But what is less known is the number of people it has supported back from unemployment.
Over the past six months recruitment firm Remploy has placed 22 people at the new Kingsway restaurant.
Remploy delivers the Fair Start Scotland programme in Tayside, funded by the Scottish Government, which aims to help people secure sustainable employment.
The programme offers up to 18 months of tailored, one-to-one support for those not in education or currently employed, to overcome barriers and access local employment opportunities.
It means Tim Hortons was able to staff up at a time of worker shortages in the hospitality sector.
Unemployed for two years
Meanwhile, some workers secured a job for the first time in years.
One employee said: “I was unemployed for just over two years before I joined the Fair Start Scotland service.
“In the two years I was unemployed, I suffered from sciatica.
“I was referred to Remploy to help me get back into employment.
“Tim Hortons is really accommodating for my situation, being a single mum to two.
“I feel my manager supports me with anything I need.”
With the restaurant now having been open for six months, some of these workers have already won promotions.
Need for hospitality workers
Kristopher Gault, Tim Hortons area manager, said: “With Covid, it’s been quite turbulent trying to hire and maintain staff in the hospitality sector.
“The pandemic affected recruitment and the stability of workforces, which is why we are working alongside Remploy to bring new people into our business and help them to build a brighter future.”
Remploy delivers the Fair Start Scotland service across Lanarkshire and Tayside on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Claire McGuigan, national strategy manager at Remploy, adds: “We’re really proud to work with employers on a local and national level.
“We have a long history of delivering employability programmes and supporting people to overcome their barriers to employment.
“Employers not only benefit from our cost-free recruitment service, but we can also support with upskilling their current workforce, offering disability confidence training, and helping them to become Living Wage employers.”
Conversation