THE BAKERS

The Co-op bakery employs three bakers and a bakery manager. Two of the bakers work full-time and the third baker works part-time. The bakery manager is also a full- time employee. The bakers and the bakery manager bring varied experiences to the work environment, but each has a wealth of baking knowledge to draw upon. Interviews were conducted with one of the full-time bakers, the part-time baker, and the bakery

manager.26 In addition to these interviews, the manager of the grocery store was also interviewed.

There has been a concerted effort on the part of the Co-op to ensure that the individuals working in the bakery are skilled in their trade. The full-time baker started baking 34 years ago at a small neighbourhood bakery in Saskatoon. He received his training through this small bakery where he worked part-time for three and a half years. After circumstances compelled the baker to look for new work, he applied to the Co-op. He was hired to work the night shift, and for over 25 years his main responsibility was to make bread to supply all of the Co-op stores in Saskatoon. Other duties for the baker included making muffins to supply co-operatives outside of Saskatoon. On occasion he

would also bake specialty products for the store where he worked. He continued to work the night shift until he applied for a transfer to a different store. His desire for a change in work environment stemmed from his need to get away from working the night shift, which he said had taken a physical toll on him.

The part-time baker at the Co-op also arrived at the bakery with ample experience from other bakeries. His first job was as a baker at a small retail bakery in Regina,

Saskatchewan. The bakery he started at was fully a scratch bakery, and he received all of his training on the job. In addition to making bread, he was also taught to make other fancy products such as pastries. Before his arrival at the Co-op, this baker also had managerial experience from an in-store bakery with a competing super-market franchise in Saskatoon.

The bakery manager, like his fellow employees, is a skilled baker, who has practiced his trade over many years. His first baking job was in a small retail bakery in a rural Saskatchewan community. He expressed a long interest in baking, in large part due to his mother’s dedication to home baking. His first position in a bakery was part-time, and the bulk of his hours were worked over the summer. When he needed to find more stable, year-round employment in the baking field, it was his father who informed him of an opening with the Co-op. He started there as a baker’s assistant. His initial training at the Co-op was on-the-job. However, his ambition was to become a journeyman baker and to find a more senior position either within or outside of the Co-op.

He recognized, however, that with respect to baking there were few opportunities for formal training. While he learned on-the-job from an extremely knowledgeable baker, the Co-op did not offer any training that would help him to gain certification. The

manager took it upon himself to advance his own training, taking several baking courses through the Baking Council of Canada. It was only after the fact, when one of his

superiors found out what he had done, that he was reimbursed for the expenses involved. After he completed the courses a full-time baking position opened up at the Co- op. Having worked in this position for a few years, he decided that it was time to challenge for his journeyman’s paper. This process proved logistically difficult as

Saskatchewan does not have a journeyman’s program for bakers. Individuals seeking this designation must challenge an exam in Manitoba or Alberta. This expense would have fallen on the baker had his manager at the time not stepped in. In many cases, the Co-op does assist their workers financially if they opt to pursue training related to their position.

Once established as a baker in the co-operative system, the baker who is now the bakery manager decided that he would like to pursue a career with the Co-op in a

management capacity. This aspect of training is well-supported by the Co-op. For his managerial training, the baker was stationed at a Co-op in Regina where he trained for approximately one month. By the end of that training period he was independently managing the in-store bakery on a daily basis. Once his training was complete, he was transferred to a Co-op in rural Saskatchewan. When a bakery manager position opened up in Saskatoon, he applied and was awarded the position.