We are a social enterprise working alongside young people with limited opportunities. We operate in two industry channels being Hospitality and Construction; providing work-skills training, and life-skills mentoring. We have a heart to see community transformation across regional Australia through the lives of these young people!

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The Social Foundry started when Paul Dettmann and Simon Burnett realised that for some young people, getting into the workforce, and building the life skills needed to thrive can be a bridge too far. Data shows a growing disconnection within Australian society and more and more people are feeling increasingly isolated and disconnected from their community.

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'What would it look like if there was a workplace that could partner with young people building life skills alongside Job Skills?' Great ideas like the Social Foundry don't usually work perfectly on the first go, but after a few test runs in manufacturing, we realised that we should focus on where young people are and where they can gain employment - and hospitality is the biggest employer in the region. Thus the Social Foundry Cafe was born.

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 Since then we have also launched Social Foundry Constructive Trades and seeks to leverage Government Infrastructure projects, the Social Procurement framework, and Commercial Construction Developments to provide projects that impart training in work-skills and life skills for disadvantaged young Australians. Our primary area of business is the design, construction and delivery of repurposed shipping containers to service the construction industry.

 

Our Social Foundry Constructive Trades channel pulls together our values by offering young people belonging, purpose and respect, whilst providing them training in construction related work-skills: carpentry, electrical, and plumbing. All this is tied together in our life-skills stream where we empower these young people to not only survive but to thrive in their working lives as they contribute to wider community.
 

Be it in our Hospitality or Constructive Trades Channel, our goal is to create a mentoring workplace that provides new possibilities for those with limited opportunity, and welcomes the whole community to connect with one another and share life in our local space. We pulled together some like-minded people, local (and formerly local) people, all who have a passion to build a nurturing community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, and we are registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (you can see our registration here).

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Our Board members are:

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Sue Rivett (Chairperson)

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Paul Dettmann (board member and co-founder)

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Simon Burnett (board member and co-founder)

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Barry Membrey (board member and treasurer)

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Ophelie Lechat (board member and secretary)

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Martin McKenna (board member)

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Jamie Zoch (General Manager - Constructive Trades, ex officio board member)

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Bronwyn Burnett (General Manager - Hospitality, ex officio board member)

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We'd love to share our space and our passion for the community of Kyneton and the wider Macedon Ranges - drop by sometime soon.

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