Delivering quality, specialised hospitality training
Somers Elite Training is a boutique hospitality training agency, passionate about expertly and personally guiding our students throughout their career development in the industry.
Growing from strong foundations, Somers Elite Training has built a presence upon its reputation for integrity, consistently high quality and personalised training approach, and for its business model which gives back to the community by choosing partners and suppliers with a community conscience. Where possible Somers Elite Training uses local businesses.
We're not another corporate monolith. We love getting close and personal with the needs
of our clients and deliver a quality of service that big companies just can't compare with.
Julie BarrettCEO
Get to know our team
Highly Qualified and Industry Savvy Trainers
The Somers Elite Training team have decades of direct experience each, working hands on in various areas of hospitality from Gaming to Restaurant and Bar & Café Service.
Julie Barrett
CEO
Julie Barrett began in hospitality at the age of 14 and has been with Somer...
Julie Barrett began in hospitality at the age of 14 and has been with Somers Elite Training since 2005. Her extensive direct hospitality know-how is backed by more than 20 years in corporate retail and hospitality management. Julie and her team is dedicated to providing a personal experience for her students, helping them to build ‘old school’ skills that are highly practical and transferable in the industry. She believes in giving students the right start by building people and leadership skills, and threads this ethos throughout all aspects of the business.
Simone Johnson
Office Manager
Simone is a talented graphic designer with 22 years’ experience, and is h...
Simone is a talented graphic designer with 22 years’ experience, and is highly skilled at taking a fast-moving workplace and anchoring it into grounded systems that ensure no stone is left unturned. After downscaling the design business to be available for her young children, Simone found she wanted another way to get out into the world for some grown-up conversation and has now been with Somers Elite Training for two years. Simone’s role is student course advisor, certification requirements and office manager. She is in direct contact with students taking them under her wing and supporting them through training. In her ‘spare time’, Simone’s huge heart and positive mindset has room for volunteering, pulling teams together to organise fund-raising walks.
Paula Atherton
Trainer
Paula brings an adventurous spirit and wealth of experience to the team. S...
Paula brings an adventurous spirit and wealth of experience to the team. She began in hospitality at aged 15 learning the important fundamentals of how to make the best cappuccinos! Subsequent decades of experience as a table games dealer, pit boss, duty manager, attendant and waitress at Crown Casino and others notable venues within Melbourne’s bustling hospitality scene secured her deep knowledge of gaming and the industry as a whole. Paula returned to study and gain qualifications in training staff in incident reporting, return to work procedures and hospitality. The combination is a winner, and Somers Elite students have been the lucky recipients of Paula’s training skills for over two years.
Tracey Shugg
Trainer
Tracey’s passion and purpose is to train students who are able to impart ...
Tracey’s passion and purpose is to train students who are able to impart a professional level of service and skill that will continually exceed employer and customer expectations. A trainer with Somers Elite Training for three years, Tracey holds an Associate Diploma in Hospitality and TAE Certificate IV backed by over 30 years’ experience within cafes and restaurants, function/conference sales and coordination, business development, front office management, concierge and 5 star hotels. She actively keeps her finger on the industry pulse by regularly enjoying Melbourne’s vibrant hospitality scene with her husband and teenage children. To ensure her practical skills up-to-date she also loves helping out at her friend’s restaurant in South East Melbourne.
George O'Keeffe
Achieve Liquor Licence Compliance & RSA Trainer
George brings excellence in business and training development to the team. ...
George brings excellence in business and training development to the team. His 20 years working with VCGLR in the capacity of education management is a bonus for his students. George is amply qualified with a Bachelor of Business, Grad. Dip. Management, Grad. Cert. Instructional Design and Cert. IV workplace trainer. He was the writer of all course materials for RSA training in Victoria and has delivered liquor licensing training for close to 26 years. George’s ethical approach, impressive qualifications and friendly nature made him a great match for the Somers Elite team. Being a recent empty nester, George is enjoying the freedom, nicely balanced with guiding new students through their training and into the workforce.
We love our clients, big and small! Many of our independent students are women and men returning to
the workforce after parenting or whom are looking for a fresh start in a flexible industry to work around their lifestyle.
Julie Barrett CEO
Our team has an innate ability to be highly responsive and nimble in adapting to the needs of clients. Being flexible within the current industry climate has let the business grow and become sustainable within this tough and highly changeable sector. Our boutique style lets the team work intimately with clients to develop and hone a customised experience and tailored training service.
The Somers Elite Training extended business network include governance experts for gaming and hospitality which gives our team access to current legislation and lets us take care of the upskilling and speciality development of succession planning for our clients. This places Somers Elite Training in a position to fulfil a unique gap in the marketplace and to continually improve its service delivery to our clients.
The Somers Elite Training client list is extensive and includes individual adult students looking for the best training available, youth and school leavers starting out, schools receiving our VCAL training for year 11 and 12 students, club & hotel organisations, restaurants & cafes, corporates including many major retail liquor clients and tourism operators, plus job placement networks across the state.
