Nasif Is Banking After Soft Skills

When Nasif graduated in January 2020, he drafted a resume, which he sent out to different companies after getting to know of the opportunities on websites. Despite being called for interviews by a few companies, these did not result in employment as he had anticipated.

“Fortunately, I landed an internship opportunity at the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) upon applying in 2019,” he says, his eyes glimmering with nostalgia.

“In 2020, Someone referred me to Light for the World’s website which I visited and found information on disability inclusion. I was also able to enrol for a soft skills training for persons with disabilities.”
The soft skills training is an initiative by Light for the World, which equips young job seekers with disabilities with the skills that they need to compete favourably in the labour market. The 1-day training includes sessions on CV writing, building self-esteem, networking, how to prepare young people with disabilities for interviews, as well as communicating their reasonable accommodation needs.

Landing a job

Nasif at his desk in Stanbic Bank

Following the soft skills training, the participants, who are young people with disabilities are then placed in a database and their information is shared with prospective employers seeking to employ people with disabilities. This was the case for Nasif, when Stanbic Bank (head office) had a job opening.

“I joined Stanbic bank in April 2022. This was after Light for the World had forwarded my CV to the bank, which later contacted me informing me of the different vacancies that are available and invited me for the interviews, which I passed,” Nasif explains, attributing this to the soft skills training he had received.

“The soft skills training programme helped me sharpen my communication skills, write a good CV, and I got to know how I should present myself during interviews.”

Nasif hails from Kawempe-Mbogo in Kampala District to access his office which is situated on one of the tallest buildings in Kampala, the Crested Towers. On the 7th floor of the shorter tower is where he sits and he uses the elevator, which is accommodative to persons with disabilities. The company has had to make some adjustments to ensure free mobility around the building.

“The door to the main entrance was a bit hard, but the bank gave me a special key to a softer alternative door, and this is what I use to access the office. Whenever I get a chance to meet the Head of People and Culture, he always asks me where the management can improve regarding reasonable accommodation.”
Nasif cannot help but smile, noting how his life has changed and continues to, ever since he joined the bank.

“This job has changed me personally. It has helped me work under pressure, absorb, and perform through it. I am also able to access several free courses from the bank’s website, which I am taking to enhance my performance. Some of them include computer literacy and finance to shape us in our work.”