The Apprentice: Kenneth Kibirige 

Welcome to PFS’ The Apprentice! We are excited to share this series highlighting the successes of our apprenticeship program, which, since 2016, has paired nearly 200 fresh college graduates with food processors across Africa.  

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in human nutrition and dietetics, Kenneth Kibirige was placed at SESACO Ltd, a soya processing company in Uganda. Throughout his year-long post, he gained leadership skills, learnt how to collaborate with teams, solve problems and prepare for quality audits. Through PFS’ mentorship program, he was also matched with his mentor @Heidi Emanuel, who shared best practices for documentation, communication, problem-solving and training food handlers and machine operators to promote safety and quality during production. “My favorite part of the apprenticeship was collaborating with PFS volunteers to handle and implement various product quality related projects, like developing a HACCP tool and an interesting real-time shelf-life study evaluation," said Kenneth. "My apprenticeship allowed me to contribute to product improvement and development, essential for a career in food processing. I also gained hands-on experience on ensuring food safety, quality, and general hygiene of a food processing facility.”