Get Involved
Aged 14-26? Thinking about Joining Us?
Learn, Train and Gain Work Experience With Us
The Place For You To Gain Essential Life Skills at Your Own Pace
Is this right for me?
At The Usual Place, you are treated as an individual.
There are no groups or cohorts.
You have your own placement.
There will be other young people here who are learning at their own pace too.
You learn in our kitchen and cafe.
You don’t need any experience or plans to work in hospitality. Many young people use this time to build confidence and skills for all sorts of different futures. And sometimes people discover what they want to do along the way.
Learn in your own way
You learn at your own pace.
No pressure. No rush.
This is not like school or college.
You learn by doing real work alongside a Mentor in our café and kitchen.
You’ll have the chance to learn interesting things in a friendly place.
All we ask is that you agree to showing up, taking part and giving things a try.
What You Gain
- confidence
- work skills
- real experience
- qualifications (when you are ready)
Support and Challenge
We focus on what you can do.
We adapt to enable your needs.
We will expect you to take part and try.
We will not do things for you.
We will support and encourage you to grow.
Move Forward
You can try things step by step.
You can face challenges in your own time.
You will make real progress.
You will leave with skills, experience, and confidence.
You may also make some great friends!
Your Role
We ask you to commit to your placement. This means showing up, taking part and giving things a try.
You don’t have to be perfect.
Mistakes are a part of learning – they are not failures.
We will enable you when things feel hard.
We just ask that you keep going, at your own pace.
Your Effort Matters
That is how progress happens.
You will never be alone – our Mentors will be with you every step of the way until you are ready to do things yourself.
Ready to talk to someone about a placement at The Usual Place?
Work Experience and Training Programs
We Offer a Range of Work Experience Programs at The Usual Place
We’re here to walk alongside you, offering opportunities in our cafe and kitchen that are thoughtfully tailored to your personal development.
From introductory work experience to structured training and qualifications we work with young people with additional support needs at their own pace, focusing on strengths and making reasonable adjustments as appropriate.
Our Skills Academy, Early Enablement programmes, and Employer‑Ability Mentorship offer real‑world experience, accredited qualifications, and the personal skills needed to be resilient and effective in employment, education, and citizenship.
Ready to Transform Lives?
Young people with additional support needs often encounter “cliff‑edge” moments — times when support suddenly falls away and they are expected to navigate the world alone. These moments can be destabilising, isolating, and deeply discouraging.
The Usual Place works mainly with young people aged 14–26, especially at key transition points.
Whether you are a young person looking for your next step, a parent, carer, teacher or support worker there are programmes you can get involved in.
If you want to support our work there are many ways to do this including visiting our cafe as a customer or through fundraising, donating, becoming a friend and philanthropic giving.
