What does Queen Latifah, billionaire Jeff Bazos, talk-show host Jay Leno and Pink have in common? They, like many more, have worked at a fast food restaurant at one point in their lives. One of the best experiences for students in college or campus is working in a busy restaurant or food outlet part-time or during the holidays. In many first world countries, many students have paid their way through college by working in McDonalds, KFC, Burger King or other fast food cafes.
While not many young people in Kenya consider such opportunities as life changing, most people who have gone through the whole started-from-the-bottom experience behind a counter of a fast food outlet say the life lessons gained from such establishes has been invaluable.
That’s why Hoggers Limited (holding company of Steers, Debonairs and Ocean Basket) has created a Student Mentorship Programme that sees students find an internship working at several branches of Steers.
During the six week internship, students rotate in different departments but spend more time in their area of specialization.
Mercy Kimani, a Marketing Major from Daystar University, is one of the beneficiaries of the mentorship programme. After her internship, she got absorbed by Hoggers as an Assistant Brand Manager working on the Steers outlets.
“University is more theory oriented. The internship helped me understand the practical application of terms like brand identity, margins, ROIs and customer care,” says Mercy.
According to Muthoni Gitahi, Hoggers Marketing Manager, the rotation enables students to quickly learn how menus are created, specialties, value chain, procurement, managing costs and strategy.
“Every 3 to 6 months, we select a number of students to join the program. We know this experience is important for young people as they prepare to join the job market,” adds Muthoni.
Apart from the three Steers outlets in Nairobi’s CBD, Steers has outlets in Donholm, Ngong Road and South C.
To further engage students, Steers has extended its popular Wacky Wednesday through all weekdays, only for students. This means you get two burgers for the price of one, Monday – Friday.
