The Club, in close partnership with Michael O'Brien Catering (MOBC), is planning to offer around 30 Logan area students the chance to receive on-the-job training each year at the Gabba stadium throughout the AFL season.
The Lions have been gathering ideas and guidelines on the project from MOBC, the Logan City Council, State Member for Springwood Ms Barbara Stone MP and representatives from various Logan secondary schools.
The first group of 16 students from Daisy Hill's John Paul College are set for real-life Gabba training when the Lions battle the Adelaide Crows this Saturday night 16 May on home soil.
The trainees will be monitored and assessed by professional MOBC supervisors across five Lions match-day functions and various corporate boxes, as their shifts run from early afternoon set-up to a late night clean-up.
Individual performance reports will be shared with the school and trainee, and high achieving students stand a good chance of securing paid employment with MOBC at future Gabba events and fixtures.
Lions Chief Executive Michael Bowers says the scheme is just one part of a strong community partnership the Lions are developing with local members and supporters.
"With this initiative we really want to show students a clear employment pathway from their school work to a wide variety of catering and hospitality jobs in the workplace," Mr Bowers said.
"In sport you can see the logical steps from a junior or school club to the state league to the national competition. We want to offer that same obvious pathway to students who can: one - discover if this career really is for them, two - observe a variety of related jobs to find their ideal position, then three - learn how they can actually progress to this role."
"So it's great to have local secondary students seeking that initial industry 'break' to gain some hospitality experience, while we at the Lions and MOBC are always seeking quality staff to service our 200 corporate boxes and five functions at the Gabba on match-days."
"There's a definite excitement that builds towards that first bounce of the ball on the Gabba. And it's terrific to be able to share that match-day excitement with what we hope will be some future stars of the hospitality business."
State Member for Springwood Barbara Stone MP said, "This is a great opportunity for students to gain practical experience in event hospitality."
"The skills they will learn will be a good foundation for future employment in hospitality or events management," Ms Stone said.
"I applaud the Brisbane Lions on this initiative and their support for the Logan and Brisbane South communities."
Logan City Councillor Lisa Bradley said the traineeship program offered a wonderful opportunity for students to gain valuable skills and knowledge.
"It's great to see students from John Paul College involved in this initiative and I'm sure they will benefit from the experience in a variety of ways,'' Cr Bradley said.
"I'm looking forward to working with the Lions to encourage other Logan schools to get involved as well."
The Lions have received extremely positive feedback to the concept from John Paul College Headmaster, Mr Warren Peat.
"We have been very keen to work with the Lions on this project," Mr Peat said.
"Our partnerships with other training providers will also bring invaluable experience to the relationship with the Lions as we establish this new opportunity."
John Paul College Senior School Head of Learning, Sue Going said learning the service industry at the Gabba with all the energy and excitement surrounding Lions match-days would certainly be a special point of difference from your normal restaurant or cafe.
"I'm sure there would be plenty of students keen to start their hospitality careers at the Gabba on a Saturday night while the Lions are doing their own 'carving up' on the field," Ms Going said.
PHOTO: John Paul College students Dylan Wood (16) and Jenna Kinross (16) get a taste for the Lions' new hospitality training program at the Gabba alongside Logan City Councillor Lisa Bradley and State Member for Springwood Barbara Stone MP with star Lions players Daniel Rich and Bradd Dalziell.
