No. 52

This week, continuing with an unintentional theme of “behind the scenes”, we’ve managed to nab quiet legend Ben Szobody. As Steve & Jenn chat with Ben about his former life as a political journalist in the US, current role as project development manager at One Church Brighton and editor at Longberry Press, and future ambitions, it becomes abundantly clear that No. 52 is all about the importance of creating opportunities to make a positive social impact through what we do.

We’re assuming that you’re pretty familiar with one of Ben’s projects in particular—the beautiful, impactful, and long-awaited Longberry 2—but we’re hoping that this episode draws your attention to one of Ben’s other projects, the UK’s first-ever specialty coffee professional apprenticeship. An inspiring program that has seen over 100 people trained* in its first year, Pro Baristas is the perfect marriage of positive societal impact and market demands. We could attempt to wax poetic about this program for paragraphs and paragraphs, but trust us—it’s more impactful to hear about it from the man himself.  

*Whist only 10 young people qualify for the year-long apprenticeship, Ben has developed additional training that is available to almost anyone, from light taster sessions for the homeless to provide activity and confidence to intensive certificate courses for job hunters.

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We’re going to be live at Barista Guild of Europe’s CoLab: Antwerp this April 25-27th! Tickets are currently available on their site, but going fast–get in before they go!