‘Coming to work at CCEP has completely changed my life’

‘Coming to work at CCEP has completely changed my life’ Mohammed Koheealle started as a merchandiser at CCEP in January. Given that he’s wheelchairbound, this wasn’t the easiest role for him to take on. He tells us about the challenges and successes of his new position.

“I’ve been in a wheelchair all my life because of a birth defect and, to be honest, it’s been a struggle. No company has ever been able to look past my disability. Coming to work at CCEP has completely changed my life.

When I first heard about the job at CCEP, I immediately jumped on it, not mentioning my disability. I injured my leg quite badly on the morning of my interview, but decided to keep my appointment first, before going to hospital. That’s how much I wanted the job.

My interviewers were a little caught off guard initially, but quickly looked passed my disability. They saw me as an actual human being, and offered me my first full-time job ever. They did everything they could to make me feel comfortable, including meeting with every single store on my patch to be sure I could do the job properly, and training me to do my work from a wheelchair because it’s quite a physical role.

I still struggle from time to time with accessing stock, but the CCEP team is always happy to help me out – they’ve been amazing. The managers I’ve reported to so far have just been incredible at looking at situations from my perspective. Honestly, they’ve been a godsend. I was in a dark place in my life before I started working at CCEP, but since then everything changed – everything has fallen into place and I’ve never been happier. I’m realistic about what kind of role would suit me, but I see a bright future ahead of me. One day I might even work at the CCEP head office.