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<p class="font_8">I Love Coffee Roasting UK Ltd., a company originating from the South-African social enterprise I Love Coffee, that employs and trains Deaf individuals to become baristas.</p>

I LOVE COFFEE

RETAIL - REAL-TIME BSL via VRS

I Love Coffee Roasting UK Ltd., a company originating from the South-African social enterprise I Love Coffee, that employs and trains Deaf individuals to become baristas.

Company overview

Only 37% of people who report British Sign Language (BSL) as their main language are employed—compared to 77% of non-disabled individuals.

Facts

  • 6 Locations served

  • 24/7 Access to VRS

  • 1,200h+ Training hours Delivered

  • 10+ Baristas trained

Key Statistics

I Love Coffee is expanding into the UK market, opening opportunities of the Deaf community.

The challenge was to provide native BSL support all all stages of recruitment and training through to ongoing support of onsite team members should they encounter operation issues.

  • Scalability during recruitment and training

  • Access to UK deaf community

  • Real-time access to qualified BSL interpreters

  • Business model that couldn’t support full-time onsite interpreters

  • Ability to engage non-BSL capable subject matter experts.

Challenges
Key Results

InSign with collaborated with ILC to create a playbook and orchestrate all aspects of recruitment, training, interpretation support, and setup. In 4 weeks, baristas underwent intensive induction including customer service standards, health & safety procedures, hygiene and professional development training. Daily follow-ups ensured attendance, quality assurance, and operational support, reinforced by InSignLanguage’s Video Relay Services (VRS) platform and interpreter coordination. ILC, WeWork and InSign set the standards for expanding accessibility to the Deaf community in the Retail and Hospitality industries.

  • Enabled ILC’s successful entry into the UK market with immediate operational capability

  • Created new Access to Work (AtW) clients by connecting Deaf baristas with funded interpreter services

  • Strengthened ILC’s partnership with WeWork by ensuring consistently high standards through daily support and compliance

Outcome
<p class="font_8">I Love Coffee Roasting UK Ltd., a company originating from the South-African social enterprise I Love Coffee, that employs and trains Deaf individuals to become baristas.</p>

Image source: InSignLanguage Ltd, 2025.
Featuring Elizabeth Hood and Gary Hopkins.

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