SYB on the rise 海上青焙坊：当法式浪漫遇上公益项目
TEXT/Sharlene PHOTO/SYB
Text
7月20日，来自全国各地8 个省份的30名学生从海上青焙坊毕业了，他们在经过一年法式面包和西点，中式烘焙、生活技能课和英语课的学习后，拥有了一技之长并将踏上工作岗位。海上青焙坊曾经的毕业生、两位刚刚从法国进修归来的新老师也将在海上青焙坊教授课程，帮助更多的学生踏上实现人生梦想的征程。
Seven years ago, a group of 12 French friends who had been living in China for years realized that the local bakery business was booming but the market was being challenged by an acute shortage of good bakers with proper French bakery training. That is how the Shanghai Young Bakers (SYB) came into being—to teach the underprivileged youth in China a much sought-after skill on the job market.
In 2009, 16 students were enrolled in the SYB’s training program which was initially 6 months but now has been extended to 12 months. In addition to bakery classes and practical internships at numerous 5-star hotels in Shanghai, life skills and English classes have been added to further the graduates’ career development opportunities.
“SYB’s bakery training content is based on the French bakery diploma CAP, as developed by the Ecole Française de Boulangerie et Pâtisserie d’Aurillac, (EFBPA), a top-ranked bakery school in France,” said the SYB Executive Director Cecile Cavoizy. She is proud of the SYB that has the best trainers and bakers to prepare the marginalized Chinese youth aged between 17 and 23 for decent jobs and independent lives after graduation.
Currently, the SYB French bakery classes are being taught by three SYB graduates who have finished their trainingat the EFBPA in France with a CAP diploma under the SYB’s sponsorship.
Over the past four years, these trainers have been dedicating their time and expertise to their students, and they’ll soon be joined this September by two new colleagues: Julien Zhang on bakery and Ines Jin on pastry.
Once trainees at the SYB, they were selected to continue their training in France. After 12 months of French learning at the Alliance Française, they left for the EFBPA where they graduated with a CAP diploma.
“It was such an amazing experience and opportunity and we are truly excited to share our newly acquired expertise with the future students. We are also proud of the achievements of the Class Seven. We hope they will find fulfilling jobs as bakers and pastry chefs,” they said at the graduation ceremony of the SYB Class Seven on July 20.
Job hunting is, indeed, never an issue for the SYB students, according to Ms. Cavoizy. On the afternoon of the graduation ceremony, the SYB organized a career fair inviting hotels, private bakeries and bakery-related companies to meet their prospective employees. “Almost each of them left the fair with at least two job offers,” she said.
The SYB now is also developing commercial activities so that the generated revenue can complement donations and improve its financial stability. Its long-term ambition is to have 40% of its needs covered by the profits made from public baking workshops and other commercial services, while strengthening mutually beneficial strategic partnerships with companies such as yeast producer Lesaffre and hotel group Marriott. SYB is also developing partnerships with other NGOs to help them develop their own social bakery program.
.
Our life in France
Julien Zhang and Ines Jin was studying bakery skills in France from last June to this July. Before they started at the EFBPA, they had been learning French in China and interning at hotels for over 12 months.
Despite the full preparation, life in France was particularly hard for them. “I had broken down several times in class,” joked Ms. Jin. “I couldn’t follow the teacher as she was speaking French too fast. I bent over under the desk and tears just came down.” Mr. Zhang shared the same experience with her. “Most of the difficulties happened with theory courses and the language is the biggest barrier,” he added.
Fortunately, they had a group of friends who would help them whenever they ran into troubles. Every day they would have after-class meetings to discuss the tricky part and work out a solution. The teachers were also very encouraging and helpful to explain the theories again and again.
Efforts paid off. They succeeded in graduating from the EFBPA with a CAP diploma. Now they’re looking to teach classes at the SYB this September. In retrospect, they couldn’t be prouder of themselves. “We will share our skills, experiences and life stories with more SYB students to help them realize their dreams,” they promised.
SYB on the rise 海上青焙坊：当法式浪漫遇上公益项目
文/王晓琳 图/海上青焙坊
七年前，12名在中国生活多年的法国友人发现中国国内烘焙市场需求日益增长，市面上经过正式法式烘焙培训的优秀烘焙师却严重不足。 为了帮助中国穷困的青少年掌握这门市场上稀缺的技能，海上青焙坊应运而生。
2009年，海上青焙坊迎来了他们第一批16名学员，开始为期6个月的培训项目。如今，这个项目已经延长至12个月。为让学员们毕业后能获得更好的就业机会，除了烘焙课程与五星级酒店的实习之外，生活技能与英语课程也被加入到培训当中。
“海上青焙坊的烘焙培训内容是由法国顶尖的烘焙学校——奥里亚克烘焙学校基于法国烘焙专业技能合格证书（CAP）制定的。”海上青焙坊执行总监高凤熙说。海上青焙坊拥有最优秀的的教员与烘焙师，通过他们的努力，许多17到23岁的中国边缘青少年在毕业后能找到体面的工作并自力更生，她为此感到自豪。
近期，海上烘焙坊的法式烘焙课程由三名毕业学员授课。他们曾通过该项目的赞助在法国奥里亚克烘焙学校完成了培训，并获得法国烘焙专业技能合格证书（CAP）。
在过去的四年中，他们倾其所能将自己所学传授给学员们。今年9月开始，两位新教员将加入其中：烘焙师张帅和西点师金会子。
二人过去均为海上青焙坊的学员，后被选拔前往法国深造。在法语联盟进行了12个月的法语学习后，他们进入了法国奥里亚克烘焙学校，并最终取得法国烘焙专业技能合格证书（CAP）。
“那是一段奇妙的经历，也是一次绝佳的机会。能向未来的学员传授我们新学的技能，真令人激动。我们为第七届学员所取得的成绩骄傲，希望他们都能找到理想的烘焙师或西点主厨的工作。”他们在7月20日海上青焙坊第七届学员的毕业典礼上说道。
高凤熙女士介绍说，找工作对于海上青焙坊的学员来说从来不是问题。在毕业典礼当天下午，海上青焙坊举办了一场招聘会，安排酒店、私人面包房以及其他和烘焙相关的企业与学员们见面。“每个学员在离开会场时几乎都能拿到两份以上的工作邀请。”高小姐说。
海上青焙坊目前也在进行商业活动的尝试，从而可获得收益补充外界捐款，促进财政稳定。海上青焙坊的远期目标是从对外烘焙工作坊和其他商业活动中取得利润冲抵40%的开销，同时加强与酵母制造商乐斯福和万豪集团等企业的互惠战略。海上青焙坊也在发展与其他非盈利组织的合作关系，力图帮助它们完成公益性烘焙项目。
我们在法国的生活
张帅和金会子去年6月至今年7月间在法国学习烘焙技能。在前往法国奥里亚克烘焙学校前，他们边在国内酒店实习，边学习了12个月的法语。虽然做了充足的准备，法国的生活对他们而言依旧艰难。“我在课堂上崩溃过好几次，”金小姐笑着说，“上课时老师法语说得太快我跟不上，就直接趴在桌子底下哭了起来。”张先生和她的经历也差不多。“大多数困难发生在理论课上，语言真的是最大的障碍。”他补充道。
幸运的是他们有一群随时为他们提供帮助的朋友。每节课后，他们会聚在一起讲解课程难点并制定解决方案。老师们也乐于帮助与鼓励他们，耐心地为他们讲解理论知识。
有付出就会有回报。他们最终顺利从法国奥里亚克烘焙学校毕业，并取得了法国烘焙专业技能合格证书（CAP）。现在，他们对九月份将开始的烘焙教学充满期待。回想起来，他们为自己感到无比自豪。“我们将会与更多的海上青焙坊的学员分享我们的技能、经验和自己的故事，从而帮助他们实现梦想。”他们坚定地说。
翻译：喻志超