Providing opportunities for young people, aged 15-24, to gain retail and manufacturing experience, all whilst offering up great products for you to purchase in the process!
Our interview
Originally published on 9 August 2019.
Have you visited the new social enterprise store Troublesmiths? This unique store provides opportunities for young people, aged 15-24, to gain retail and manufacturing experience, all whilst offering up great products for you to purchase in the process!
Enterprise Coordinator Stacey sat down with the Hello Hobart team alongside two of the volunteers, Brayden and Ellie.
“The motivation behind Troublesmiths is to give our volunteers, who are at risk of long term unemployment, a chance to gain work experience. Troublesmiths gives them a place to do that and build skills for their resume.
Because if you don’t have experience, you often can’t get a job, but how are you going to get experience without a job?” said Stacey.
Brayden and Ellie are two of 12 volunteers who are in the first round of an 8-week program. In their 8 weeks at Troublesmiths they will learn skills, such as retail, merchandising and manufacturing. The majority of the products that are stocked on the shelves have been made by the volunteers on-site. “The whole concept of Troublesmiths is to give these volunteers valuable life long experience,” said Stacey.
Stacey explains that customers who simply have a chat with the volunteers help with their experience in serving – plus these volunteers are absolute legends to chat too! Of course, there are plenty of products on offer to purchase, including soap cubes, candles, lip balms, beard oil and beeswax wraps.
We asked volunteer Ellie what the most enjoyable part about volunteering at Troublesmiths is. “Having the ability and the opportunity to build our skills set and learn all these different things that are required to be in the work force. I know it’s really helped me become the best version of myself and break out of my shell. It’s just a really great opportunity for people to have a go at doing different things, like making products and then being able to sell them as well.”
Both Brayden and Ellie would encourage others who are considering the opportunity to apply. “It’s actually building us to become the people we want to be. We have coaching and it’s making us better people for ourselves, making us comfortable in our roles. It’s nice to rely on each other as a team,” said Brayden.
The name ‘Troublesmiths’ speaks to the strength of their team too. The ‘trouble’ in the name refers to those who have run into some sort of barrier or challenge in life, whilst ‘smith’ brings to mind a masterful worker who takes pride in their work. Therefore, a Troublesmith takes something like ‘trouble’ and makes it into something beautiful and valuable. “We are trying to squash the perception that all young people are trouble-makers,” tells Stacey.
We couldn’t leave without asking what Ellie and Brayden’s favourite product in store is. The duo are both big lovers of the candle range and who could blame them, they smell fantastic.