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Barista

Baristas make and serve coffee in cafes, coffee shop chains, restaurants and hotels.

Annual Salary

£12,500 to £20,000

Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

40 to 42 variable

You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts

0.3%
Future employment

There will be 0.3% more Barista jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In this role you could:

  • prepare the coffee shop ready for opening
  • take customer orders and payments
  • grind fresh coffee beans
  • prepare and serve sandwiches and cakes
  • clean and tidy work areas, equipment and coffee machines
  • create displays of stock
  • do stock checks and order new stock
  • clean and tidy the coffee shop before closing

Working environment

You may need to wear a uniform.

You could work in a coffee shop.

Your working environment may be noisy and hot.

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • applying directly
College

You could do a college course that would give you some of the skills to do this role. Courses include:

  • Level 1 Award in Introduction to Employment in the Hospitality Industry
  • Level 2 Award in Barista Skills
  • Level 2 Diploma in Food and Beverage Service

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or fewer GCSEs at grades 3 to 1 (D to G), or equivalent, for a level 1 course
  • 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
For more information
Apprenticeship

You can train through a hospitality team member intermediate apprenticeship.

This will usually take 12 months to complete. You'll do on-the-job training and spend time at a college or training provider.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
For more information
Direct application

You can apply directly for jobs. Some employers may prefer you to have experience in customer service or catering.

More information

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With experience, you could become a store manager then regional manager, with a coffee retail chain or franchise.

There may also be opportunities to move into:barista staff training; equipment maintenance; coffee tasting and buying; product development and marketing

You could become self-employed and open your own coffee shop.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • customer service skills
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • the ability to sell products and services
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to work on your own
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • a good memory
  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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