Wingello Business College

 

Over the last almost 12 years we have been helping young people obtain suitable qualifications for a great start to their working lives. Our staff have completed 13 certificate or diploma level qualifications in that time and now Sebastian and Rose are working on their Level III Certificates in Retail.

A Level III Certificate is a higher qualification than HSC and can be used as a pre-requisite to get into university as two of our staff have done.

The work based traineeships are part of the official apprentice/trainee programs supported by various levels of government support over the years. The employer and trainee sign agreements with the Apprenticeships organisation and an approved Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and the Certificate III normally takes about 12 to 24 months to complete. All the units are assessed and every couple of months the RTO visits and goes through the completed units and assigns the next ones.

The work we do at the store is quite broad - retail, post office, restaurant and cafe - and covers all the important areas of food and workplace health and safety, marketing, presentation, basic accounting and business skills, customer service and more. This makes the training very practical and both us and the employee benefit by combining the theory and practice.

As all our full time staff have previously completed their studies, they are able to assist the latest trainees with their turn.

What's the blue police box for?

Where did this come from?

Now that the mysterious blue police box has appeared at the Wingello Village Store we have been asked, "What is it for?" and "How long will it be here?".

It is now a permanent feature and is firmly in place.
We have always wanted this particular attraction and have been planning for it for some years. When the side fence and gate was installed we made sure the open gate would leave room for just the right space.
When we added outside lights in that area we left that area free.
Finally the space is filled.
We want visitors to Wingello to have a great experience. This attraction is just begging for a photo and an opportunity to dress up or pose with a traditional British blue phone box. The doors open and the inside wall will gradually be filled with photos that people have taken.
Anyone that takes a photo can send it to us as a 4 x 6 scaled photo. We can add the month and year and a short title. These will be laminated and placed along the walls. Over time, the inside of the box will be filled with a slice of history, and in years to come will be a step back in time.

The perfect place for a large blue police box.

You can see from the first photo we have taken, Rose dressed in clothes appropriate to around when the store first started back in the 1880's and we fiddled with the colours too.
Expect lots more photos as imagination begins to take hold!

So why did we do it? Because it's fun and brings smiles to those who have seen it.

A step back in Time.

In a Small Town Called Wingello

This is a great video about us, the shop, Wingello and the joys of being here. The fellow that made the video was chatting with James and impressed by the story that is us and the store. Great job!
No Christmas Trees were harmed in the making of this movie.

The Un-named Café

Since 2009 we have been running the café and restaurant at the Wingello Village Store as "The Un-named Café".
Over the last 6 years we have provided over 25,000 meals which has been a wealth of experience. We have continually examined and refined our range and all the ingredients that go into our simply good food and it has shown in our growing customer base.
So now is a good time to develop an appropriate logo.
What do you reckon?

Interested in a country lifestyle?

Time for a tree change?

We have transformed the Wingello Village Store and Licensed Post Office over the last five years.  It is now a viable business that can provide the owners with an income and lifestyle in a very pleasant village situated at the Southern entrance to the Southern Highlands.
The Wingello Village Store comprises many businesses including a full Licensed Post Office, restaurant, cafe, general store and more.
In transforming the store we have implemented a variety of great systems to make the management of the store straight forward and easy to follow.

Be the Postmaster or Postmistress of Wingello

As part of the sale we will be ensuring that you have all the information you require so that you know how the store runs.
So if you are looking at a change of pace and want to be part of the country lifestyle get in touch with us.
A brochure with more details is here: Wingello Village Store Sale Brochure.

This is how Lolly Bags are made

Ariel not sneaking a lolly between bags

We have around 70 different types of lollies (aka Candy in the US) which customers can individually select.
For those that don't want to wait, we pre-fill $2 bags.  This is how the bags are filled.
We decide a nice selection of lollies that combined equal $2 and then hand fill the bags. It's all very personal.

The hardest part?
Not sneaking in a lolly while packing the bags.

All on for the Queen's Birthday weekend

Liam in action

Today was a very busy day at the shop with visitors and locals dropping in throughout the day for food and coffee.
When we thought it was all over for the day, a group of bike riders gave us an alleged 10 minute warning they were coming in.  Ariel quickly called Lana and David and by the time the reinforcements arrived it was all on again.
Thanks for the warning guys!

Mmmm. Mushrooms.

A spoon is needed to pour it out.

Friday night is BYO Restaurant Night at the store. We have a 4 week cycle of dinners and tonight was our signature "Very Mushroomy Creamy Mushroom sauce".  We serve the sauce in a gravy boat so our customers can pour it on to their chicken or Angus schnitzels.
Well, by "pour" we mean "Spoon" because there are so many mushrooms cooked down into a very thick rich creamy sauce that it doesn't pour properly.  That is why we took the photo so you could tell for yourself.

Un Named Cafe Menu v3 is out!

Our latest menu for the Un Named Cafe has now been released. We have a great selection of food, coffee, milk shakes and other treats. Click on the menu to see the full thing!
 

Music under the Trees

Kathryn Hartnett is a local singer and will be the first entertainer to provide Music under the Trees at the Wingello Village Store.
On Saturday, 10 December from 1:00 to 4:00pm, while Kathryn gives us all a fine rendition of her singing talents, Pizza will be available as well as our normal great food and drinks, all in the shade of the beautiful trees in the Wingello Store back yard.
This has been fully renovated and landscaped by Don Turner (Earthworks) and Warwick Spackman (landscaping), next to the fully renovated shed by Daniel Hill (Carpentry).  These are all local tradesmen who provided great quality work.

How does the mail work in Wingello?

Wingello is a fully featured Licensed Post Office.  We are not large enough to have Australia Post Electronic Services - we are one of over 300 manual Post Offices around the country.
Mail arrives Monday to Friday between 7:30am and 8:15am.  The letters are then sorted into each resident’s mail folder or PO Box, then parcels are recorded and a red card placed in the appropriate folder or PO Box.
As you know, Wingello is tricky for addresses.  Some streets have alternate names, numbers may be duplicated and some have almost random lot numbers or house names.  We have no choice but to go by names which we match to addresses where we can.  To assist in this matching process we maintain a database of names and addresses which has helped us in delivery.
If you are new to the area, let us know who you are.  If we can’t find a match on the name, mail will be Returned to Sender after 2 weeks.
If you complete a Bill Pay by 3:00pm, it will be included in our reports which are included in the daily mail.  This is sent to the processing area in Melbourne where the details are recorded and the billers are notified.  Although this may take 2 to 3 days between payment time and notification, the official Wingello Post Office stamp serves as proof of payment.  We also take phone calls from billers if they require confirmation sooner.
At 3:45pm the mail is picked up and taken to the Bowral processing centre.  From here it is sent all over Australia and Internationally.
Sometimes mail is delayed.  But as you can see by our timing above, it is caught up in the system outside of Wingello.  We do not hold onto mail.

Why we employ young people

Jacob and Jamie in the kitchen

Back in the Age of Sail, the time of Napoleon and Wellington, boys as young as 15 were Lieutenants in the army and navy. 15 was considered an age of responsibility and the young person was expected to contribute to their family and society around them.
Even going back to the 1960s, young people were regularly employed in many businesses formally as apprentices or trainees, or informally as paperboys, lawn mowing, cleaning, etc. This utilisation of the talents of young people was a benefit to themselves, their families and society as a whole.
That is why we like employing young people at the Wingello Village Store. Every young person employed takes part in our immersive training program, learning all the facets of our rather diverse little shop. Learning about the businesses of Retail, Cafe, Restaurant, Post Office and handling all the goods and services we provide gives a good start to any resume.
If they work in a full time position, we then enrol them in an official traineeship which provides nationally recognised TAFE equivalent certification. They also are provided with formal food safety certifications through registered training organisations.
The village also benefits from having young people working in the store. Often there is friction between generations and much of it is caused by the lack of contact the generations have in day to day settings. The opportunity for young people to interact with the village and for all villagers to meet young people in a helpful environment provides great benefits.

Eric weighing Zach and confirming correct postage

A further benefit is the general youthful playfulness and joy of life. The store - and village - are happier places with young people having a somewhere to utilise their skills and share their lives in the midst of village life. There are few places where young people have the opportunity to be such an integral part of a small community.
We are providing a structure whereby young people of the village can learn useful skills, get paid doing it and participate productively in village life.
Being young, they will eventually move on to other employment and we envisage a steady flow of young people working in the store. The more the shop is patronised by local villagers the more we will employ locals.
By shopping locally, the whole village benefits in many ways.

Customer Loyalty Program

Did you know we have a very effective customer loyalty program at the Wingello Village Store?
The customer card you use to borrow DVDs is also your loyalty card.
At the end of every 3 month period, we add up all your purchases (excluding cigarettes, telephone credits) and for each $200 you have spent, we give you a credit of $10.00.
Rather than paying for advertisements in various magazines or newspapers, we want to reward our regular customers directly.
All you need do is mention your account number and we will record the purchase against your account.  You still pay as you go or in advance, we just record the sale to you.

Post Office Boxes in Wingello

A customer examining the new PO Boxes

Wingello now has official Post Office Boxes for rent.  As we don’t have mail delivery, the boxes are available for a subsidised rate, roughly only 1/3 of the normal price.
You can see the PO Boxes on the Maple Lane side of the store.  We specially installed them so all boxes are reachable for all of our customers no matter how tall they may be.
Just ask for an application form in the store.

What's with the Kitchen?

Eric and Tristen testing the new kitchen floor

We have just upgraded the kitchen floor to a specially made high wear vinyl flooring which will last many years.  This will be better for cleaning, safety, softer on the feet and non slip too.
Combined with the landscaping outside the Old Produce Shed we are finally coming to the end of all of our repairs and enhancements, just in time for our second anniversary of owning the store.
Just ask David or any of the store staff and they will gladly show you around.