From mixing beats to mixing dough
When bakery franchisee Gary Iverson interviewed Denis Lee Lai for a Bakers Delight apprenticeship he soon discovered that the 38-year-old Malaysian had the necessary skills and “determination” he was looking for.
The fact that Denis is also deaf was not a barrier.
“One of the amazing things I learnt about Denis was that he was a cook in Malaysia and when the restaurant he worked in shut it became a disco and he became the DJ, which is pretty impressive for a deaf person.”
“Denis communicates with most people very well. The challenge for us at the start was to make sure the rest of the staff were prepared to slow down the way they communicated with him, which they did.”
Denis who has now completed 18 months of his three-year apprenticeship says He says he “loves baking” despite the 3.00 am starts.
“The first few months were hard. Now it’s okay and working early means I can go home early and get to spend more at home.”
Denis says he has acquired lots of new skills including dough making, baking, stock taking, stock control and ordering.
Jason Locke, a baker with 13 years experience, who works with Denis at Bakers Delight in the Melbourne suburb of East Bentleigh said only a few changes had to be made to the workplace to accommodate Denis.
“Our ovens are run on [audible] timers so we’ve installed lights so he can see when the bread needs to come out. We also use a white board to document procedures and schedules…”
Sarina Russo Apprenticeship Services helped facilitate the apprenticeship including organising the training contract and accessing Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support.
“This is [a government allowance] tied to the employee to offset the expense incurred by the employer in facilitating a disabled person into the workplace,” Robert Thompson from Sarina Russo Apprenticeship Services explained.
The group continues to monitor Denis’ progress, providing support and making follow up visits and calls.
Colleague Jason Locke says Denis has thrived in the new job.
“Denis can actually lip read so as long as I look at him it’s just like communicating with anyone else. Occasionally you have to repeat things twice but that’s the same with any apprentice,” he said.
Bakers Delight is currently recruiting 500 new apprentices across Australia. Denis advises that a career as a baker would suit those who “like working with food, have good attention to detail and are willing to learn on the job.”
For more information visit www.bakersdelight.com.au
