TREE Alliance is a growing collection of vocational training restaurants set up to provide opportunities in hospitality for disadvantaged young people, and now helping 32,000 young people each year. First established by Friends-International in Phnom Penh in 2011, it now operates nine restaurants in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Ethiopia, with around 200 students being trained up at any time. Training lasts around two years, and as well as the practical skills, there is also social counseling, literacy/numeracy and life-skills education. These commitments ensure 90% of graduates are in employment within one month of completing their course, and all graduates receive follow up support for at least a year. As the restaurants are also popular with tourists looking for a more meaningful connection and eager to leave a positive mark on the communities they visit, TREE Alliance’s restaurants generate over US$ 2.6 million in sales every year- with all profits reinvested into their training programs.
