From the Playbook: How TUC is increasing retention

In 2017, The Underground Collective was founded on a simple belief: that a café could be more than a workplace for young people at risk of, homelessness - it could be the place they rebuild on. For participants whose lives have often been unpredictable, engagement starts with predictability.

At TUC, safety is designed into the environment before anyone starts work. The café is located in the State Library, where security staff and a welcoming support team help participants feel secure from the moment they arrive. A flexible step-out policy and an agreed quiet space mean anyone can pause when overwhelmed, without explanation or penalty. Stepping away is treated as a normal part of the workday rather than something to apologise for.

All employees learn and rotate through café roles, including front-of-house, food preparation, stock management, and cleaning. They choose the tasks they take on, aligned with their strengths or growth areas. Experienced team members work side by side with participants, showing their thinking before handing it over, and stepping back a little further each time. Over time, participants understand the café as a whole, and grow confident across every area of the business.

As they grow in confidence, young people are invited to actively shape their day to day. They offer suggestions on menu items, presentation, and workflow improvements. These are low-risk topics where their daily experience makes them the experts. Suggestions that work are adopted, so young people can point to things in the café that changed because of them.

Engagement is built from small, deliberate practices. Each step is giving young people a little more ownership than the last:

• Choice in daily tasks, so participants shape how they contribute within their role.
• Operational input that visibly lands, with real suggestions on menu, presentation, and workflow adopted.
• Peer support on the floor, as experienced participants guide newer ones through tasks they once found daunting themselves.
• Growing responsibility, handed over as confidence and capability are demonstrated over time.

Together, this approach shows what engagement really is. It is the daily experience of a workplace where questions are safe, stepping back is allowed, contributions visibly land, and confidence grows one task at a time. For young people deciding every week whether an experience is worth continuing, TUC makes the answer easy.