UGANDA BREWERIES LIMITED’S JOURNEY TO DISABILITY INCLUSION

In December 2019, Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL), a leading premium adult beverage company signed up to join the Uganda Business and Disability Network (UBDN) during its launch. The UBDN is an employer-led network in Uganda working towards creating workplaces and a company culture that is respectful and inclusive towards persons with disabilities.

Uganda Breweries Limited considers inclusion and diversity a business priority, forming part of its companywide business strategy. Under this deliverable, the company sought to actualise its commitment to have at least 5% of its staff be people with disabilities. This commitment was made by Rosemary Nakuya, UBL Human Resource Business Partner, at the UBDN launch.

“We had already been working with some people with disabilities, and through them, we were able to learn what they needed to succeed at work. From this experience, we took the challenge to create more employment placement opportunities for young graduates with disabilities.”

As a UBDN partner, Uganda Breweries Limited participated in the First Career Fair organised by Light for the World in December 2021. The objective of the career fair was to connect job seekers with disabilities with employers that are committed to disability inclusion. From the event, UBL was able to find a pool of qualified persons with disabilities, albeit not enough to meet the expected demand at that time. Light for The World mobilised more candidates to bridge the shortfall, enabling the company to create a shortlist for the graduate internship opportunity.

Partnership

To ensure that the process was disability-inclusive, Light for the World supported UBL with the disability-specific expertise required during the job interviews and orientation, including providing sign language interpreters for the hearing-impaired candidates.

Prior to the interviews, Light for the World had provided disability awareness trainings to the UBL staff to empower them to create an enabling environment for interns with disabilities to participate fairly during the interviews and thrive at work in general.

“What we see are people who are willing to embrace the opportunity given to them. At Uganda Breweries Limited, we endeavour to alleviate the barriers impacting our people and create an environment where everyone can be themselves and perform well at work.”

Results

From this process, Uganda Breweries Limited has been able to recruit ten young people with disabilities for six months for work experience placement roles. The interns also benefit from mentorship and on-the-job training. The first cohort was onboarded in early March.

TESTIMONIALS