Diageo India celebrates specially-abled students

Diageo India, in partnership with the Skill Council for Persons with Disability (SCPwD), celebrated 85 specially-abled students at a convocation ceremony held at the Cosmos College of Education, Noida. These students were prepared for three months in food and beverage (F&B) services at SCPwD’s Noida centre.

The students were trained in two courses—F&B Steward and Front Office Steward—to help them serve at the reception, housekeeping, and in other F&B service areas of hotels and restaurants. 

Speaking at the ceremony on Friday, Devashish Dasgupta, Director, Corporate Relations, Diageo India, said, “The Learning for Life programme helps us create shared value by equipping persons with disabilities with the expertise needed to succeed in the hospitality sector. Together with SCPwD and our placement partners, we’re enabling the industry to become more representative and equitable for all.”

The event was also attended by Diageo India’s senior officials; Ravindra Singh, the CEO of SCPwD and senior leaders from Crowne Plaza, Lemon Tree and Godrej Properties—SCPwD’s placement partners.

“Diageo India’s leadership in driving inclusion and diversity sets an example for others to follow. Together, we are not just creating job opportunities but breaking down barriers that have previously limited persons with disabilities from gaining mainstream employment,” maintained Ravindra Singh.

The programme’s impact was reflected in the stories shared by a few students at the ceremony. “For the longest time, I wasn’t sure if someone like me could ever secure a regular job. I worried about whether I had the right skills and how people would treat me at work. But Learning for Life gave me the training I needed, and now I’m ready to join the hospitality industry with confidence and hopes for a bright future,” said Rohit Rana, one of the students.

This year, Diageo India, the country’s leading alcobev company, aims to train over 300 specially-abled students at SCPwD-affiliated centres in Noida and Bengaluru.

In 2023, the company expanded the scope of its Learning for Life programme to focus on empowering persons with disabilities and has so far trained nearly 200 students, many of whom have found employment through its placement partners. These partnerships signify a collective effort to make the hospitality sector more inclusive and equitable.

“This is the beginning of opening up opportunities for the specially-abled people. We still have a long way to go, especially where the design stage is concerned. A lot of the older hotels were not designed with physical accessibility in mind, making it difficult for people with disabilities to navigate the building. Changing that would definitely take some time, but we have been successful in changing the mindset of people, which is the most important factor when it comes to inclusivity in the hospitality industry,” said Navdeep Singh Mehram, head of CSR & Sustainability, Diageo India.