From humble beginnings.
A values-led social enterprise helping ex-offenders earn steady work today and own stalls tomorrow.
From humble beginnings.
A values-led social enterprise helping ex-offenders earn steady work today and own stalls tomorrow.
Our Story
From Humble Beginnings
We started with a pilot, a handful of trainees, and a stubborn belief that small beginnings can build lasting foundations. Quiet work. Honest effort. The hope of rebuilding lives.
We meet people at restart. Many have carried labels for years. What they need is dignity, discipline, and a path that does not give up when they stumble. We believe in grace that lifts and accountability that steadies. Hope is not an idea to us. Hope is a plan, a timetable, a mentor who turns up, and a team that stays when life gets messy.
Hawker Boys exists to turn fresh starts into steady lives. We teach the craft of cooking and the care of a clean stall. We grow habits that hold under pressure. We train in real operations and stay close through aftercare, because staying in work is what keeps lives steady. When someone is ready, we open the door to stall ownership at a pace that protects them. Support comes with responsibility. Success is shared.
We are values-led and open to all. Our roots lie in a simple conviction that every person carries worth. That second chances are not enough without structure, and that change is possible when people are given the right tools and support. Employers get colleagues they can trust. Families get stability. Singapore gains citizens who are building, not breaking.
From one pilot to a growing pathway, this is our story. Start small. Do the work. Keep the door open. Keep going.
Our Program
Training
Short, practical lessons that build the habits and skills a working hawker uses every day so trainees can start strong and grow toward ownership.
Covering The Essentials
From zero experience to hawker ready basics: the skills a stall owner actually uses.
- Cooking basics - Core staples, consistency, speed
- Supplies and ordering - Choose suppliers, store well, portion sensibly
- Stall operations - Open, run, and close a clean, safe stall
- Licensing and hygiene - Prepare for Food Safety (hygiene certification) and key requirements
- Customer service - Manage queues, communicate clearly, recover graciously
- Managing stakeholders - Landlords and leases, centre management, hygiene inspectors, and key suppliers
- Money sense - Daily costs, simple pricing, read a basic P&L
- Digital and simple AI tools - Cashless payments, social media marketing, light prompts for captions and costing
- Professional habits - Punctuality, teamwork, steady under pressure
Outcome
Trainees finish ready to work on a stall, and equipped with the foundations to grow into responsible hawker business owners.
WSQ Pathway
Curriculum follows the WSQ framework. Trainees receive a series of WSQ credentials. Skills and credentials can be used across F&B roles making it transferrable not limiting trainees to just hawkering.
Immersion
Trainees earn market rate salary while being placed at our own live stalls or partnering hawker stalls. Immersion is where training becomes lived practice.
We believe a hawker needs more than recipes. The craft, discipline, and stewardship of a small business are imparted in real operations, day after day. Hawker work is different. The first pot starts before sunrise and the last wipe-down ends after the crowd. It is hot, noisy, and precise. You keep pace, keep quality, and keep your word.
Imparting The Hawker Way
- Time & stamina - Early starts, honest hours, staying steady from open to close.
- Heat & consistency - Cooking under real heat so the tenth bowl tastes like the first.
- Hospitality under pressure - Reading the queue, solving issues, treating people with respect.
- Prep & supply - Planning prep, portioning sensibly, working with suppliers and delivery windows.
- Clean & safe - Simple, repeatable routines that hold even when it’s busy.
- Daily numbers - The basics of cost, portions and takings so you know the stall is viable.
- Team accountability - Clear handovers, covering one another, growing week by week.
How It Runs
- Placements are matched to pace, strengths, and location across our own live stalls and partnering hawker stalls.
- Days follow the full rhythm of a stall, from first prep to last clean-down, so these habits are imparted across the whole operation.
Aftercare
Built into Immersion with our aftercare partners, we stay connected to the trainee, their family, and the relevant authorities, and work directly with partnering hawker stalls to align expectations and resolve issues early.
The aim is simple: steady transition into work, stability at home, and sticking with the programme.
Ownership
Your business. Your own enterprise. Your livelihood. You own it.
From Trainee To Owner
At Hawker Boys, the goal isn’t just to help you get a job. It’s to help you own the stall one day. To stand behind your own signboard and call it yours. We train you, place you, and when you’re ready, we help you take that final step into ownership.
Invested In You
We believe in giving second chances, not handouts. That’s why we invest upfront. The stall setup, the tools, the licenses. Everything you need to get started. You repay it later through small, fair installments, not pressure. It’s accountability with dignity, designed to help you grow, not trap you in debt.
Part MasterChef. Part Entrepreneur
At this stage, you’re no longer a trainee or an employee. You’re a hawker. A craftsman of taste. A small business owner building something real. We stay beside you as a mentor and partner, helping you manage your costs, build your brand, and find your rhythm.
A Path That’s Yours To Keep
This isn’t a program that ends with a certificate. It ends with a business in your name. A fresh start with real responsibility. A steady income. A future you can build on for your family.
Our Graduates & Their Stories
Our Partners
Together, we empower lives through opportunity.
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