Main Menu
Main Menu

Get the latest news from Work Options delivered right to your inbox.

Click here TO JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

GetInvolved

Your Donations Make Work Options Work

Your financial contribution helps us continue operating our job training and support program.

Make a donation

Your Support Helps Change Lives

DUAL PURPOSE

Work Options is addressing two community needs at the same time:

Increasing Social Equity

Our hands-on training helps individuals who have previously faced challenges joining the workforce to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of sustainable employment, learn employable skills and gain the confidence needed to secure long-term employment in the food service industry.

Alleviating Food Insecurity

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Work Options students have been preparing nutritious meals to help alleviate hunger and food insecurity for families and individuals across the Greater Denver area. To date, our students and staff have produced over 300,000 meals for people facing hunger.

Sustainable Employment

Work Options provides industry-focused job training for the culinary sector, a sector that provides stable, flexible employment. Most graduates go on to work in commercial kitchens where they are able to gain longer lasting stability and move up the career ladder quickly.

Social Enterprise

Work Options operates two social enterprise businesses. These businesses help to ensure we are able to continue providing our students with hands-on culinary skills practice and they also help us to generate revenue to offset the cost of our programming.

Partnerships

Work Options partners with both other nonprofits and governmental agencies to co-support our students. This means, we are not duplicating services and can focus our attention on helping students to learn the skills they need to get a job and stay employed.

Success

Work Options is effectively helping graduates to obtain employment and to stay employed. 75% of Work Options’ graduates stayed employed for over a year. Nationally, the job retention rate is around 25%.

Volunteer

with Work Options

Work Options assesses each volunteer’s unique skills and interests in order to maximize impact. 

Volunteers help with many aspects of our work, including:

  • Resume & Interview Prep with students
  • Assisting students with Job Search
  • Teaching classes such as Kitchen Math 
  • Planning and execution of fundraising events
  • Assisting students and chefs in the kitchen
  • Teaching and demonstrating specific culinary skills 

If you are interested in volunteering with Work Options, please email us:

become a volunteer

Employers

Interested in Hiring OUR Graduates?

Contact Us

Please email us via the button below for more information on how you can hire our graduates.

Why Hire Work Options' Graduates?

Relationship-First Model

Work Options provides post-graduation support for graduates for the first 12-months after training completion; we are there to help BOTH graduates and employers navigate or resolve workplace challenges.

Graduates are Driven

Our number one criterion for students is a drive to gain and maintain employment in the culinary industry. As a result, graduates are highly motivated to maintain a job post-graduation. Graduates of our program are reliable, consistent, and prepared to show up and work.

Technical Skills

Students in our program learn job-ready skills such as knife skills, culinary techniques, time management and teamwork. All students graduate with industry-recognized certificates, including ServSafe Food Handlers certification. Hiring Work Options’ graduates means that employers spend less time training employees on the front end. 

Soft Skills

Graduates learn critical problem-solving skills as they work to resolve their own barriers to employment. Practicing their culinary and soft skills while working in Work Options’ busy commercial kitchen also ensures that graduates are collaborative, good communicators and consistently perform well, even under pressure.

Brand Alignment

Hiring Work Options’ graduates show a commitment to our community and to diversity in the workforce. It is a story that we can help you tell and amplify to elevate your brand with consumers who are driven to shop responsibly.

Partner with work options
as an NRAEF apprenticeship employer

Contact Us

Work Options offers our award-winning Pre-Apprenticeship program to a select group of students who complete a total of three months of training to prepare for the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s (NRAEF) Line Cook Apprenticeship.

Pre-Apprenticeship students have completed many of the educational requirements for NRAEF Apprenticeship and are prepared for long-term employment. If you are interested in becoming an Apprenticeship Employer Partner, or if you would like more information on how you can become an Apprenticeship provider please contact us.

Start typing and press enter to search

Scroll to Top