Shanghai Young Bakers provides a one-year long bakery training programme for motivated, young students selected by our partner associations. Training is divided into theory and practical classes, taught by both Chinese and French teachers, followed by an internship in a professional company. Students who successfully pass the end-of-term exams will receive an official certificate issued by the Shanghai Labour Bureau, which then enables them to find qualified employment in restaurants, hotels or chain stores.

When first created, Shanghai Young Bakers was a team of ten French volunteers in Shanghai, members of the French Junior Chamber International, and twenty Chinese volunteers, who combined their efforts and invested their free time to build a fully sponsored educational training project in bakery for young Chinese people in difficulty. With the project growing up and reaching maturity, the volunteer team becomes more and more international. Up to present, SYB team has welcomed volunteers from France, Mainland China, Italy, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Ireland and Taiwan. In order to ensure its development and sustainability, SYB became a project independent of the French Junior Chamber International and has been handed over to Chi Heng Foundation in May, 2010.

During the training program which will last one year, the accommodation of the students is provided by Caoyang School or the company in which the training takes place. The programme provides food for lunch, as well as the necessary equipments and cloths. The students receive an allowance in order to cover their personal expenses for the whole duration of the training. Week-end activities such as sports competition or museum visits are also organised by the association.

A social educator is in charge of the follow-up of the students to ensure their integration within the team and at work. She is also in charge of dispatching the housework between the students who will live in the school dormitory. If a student has any difficulties the educator is there to listen to him and support him.

At work, each student will have a mentor who will be in charge to teach the student the various techniques to make bread and help him to put in practice the theory he will learn at school. The mentor will also have the role to assess the student progress during the year-long training.

The training will be managed by a theory coordinator who will be in charge to teach the students theory classes. For example: how to calculate the right temperature to make the bread, what is the property of each ingredient, creation of recipe, how to be autonomous in a kitchen. At the end of each module the theory and the mentor will assess the progress of the student and check that he fully understood the content of the module. After one year training the students will receive a certificate delivered by the Shanghai Labour Bureau, equivalent to Xishi Miandian Shi (Certificate of Western-style Pastry Cook) Level 4.

The last module will be dedicated to help the student to find a job of employee in the bakery sector (hotel, restaurant or supermarket production centre). If the company in which the student was trained is satisfied with the hard-work of the student, student will be kept to work this company and will receive a higher salary.