Starbucks to Hire 56 Baristas with Disabilities in the Second Half of This Year

Store Manager Choi Yena, a hearing-impaired person working at Starbucks Seoul National University Dental Hospital branch. Photo by Starbucks

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Starbucks Korea announced on the 16th that 56 disabled baristas have been finally hired through the ‘2022 Second Half Disabled Barista Recruitment Process’ and have started working at Starbucks stores nationwide.

Starbucks, together with the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled, recruited 56 disabled baristas?48 with severe disabilities and 8 with mild disabilities?after about two months of document and interview screening, up to three weeks of in-store training, and final evaluations starting from June.

As of this month, based on the legal number of disabled persons calculated at twice the number of severely disabled individuals, the total number of disabled partners is 889 (407 severely disabled, 75 mildly disabled), with a disability employment rate reaching an industry-leading 4.2%. Among them, 50 partners have earned equal promotion opportunities and are currently working in managerial or higher positions.

Park Chanho, Head of Talent Acquisition at Starbucks, said, “We hope the passion and efforts of the newly hired disabled partners will serve as an example to many partners, and Starbucks will continue to provide various support so that disabled partners can achieve their dreams and work in a stable environment.”

Starbucks began hiring disabled baristas in 2007 and, in 2012, became the first in the industry to sign an employment promotion agreement with the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled, conducting annual recruitment of disabled persons regardless of disability type or severity. Recognized for these efforts, Starbucks was selected as an excellent employer for disabled employment three consecutive times in 2015, 2018, and last year.

Meanwhile, Starbucks is accepting applications for the second half barista open recruitment until the 18th. After document and interview screening, the final selection will be made, and the selected candidates are scheduled to officially start working as baristas at Starbucks stores nationwide next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.