New Delhi : With a population of 2.68 crore Persons with Disabilities (Census 2011) in India, out of which approximately 1.34 crore fall in the employable age of 15 to 59 years. Under the National Action Plan on Persons with Disabilities (PwD), Government of India intends to train 25 lakh youth by 2022. Employment of skilled PwDs in industry is a challenge due to lack of sensitization and mapping of disability specific job roles in the industry.
The Department for International Development (DFID)-Government of United Kingdom, Skill Council for Persons with Disabilities (SCPwD) – Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (GOI) and v-shesh hosted a workshop on #DisabilityConfidence at Workplace along with the employers at India International Centre, New Delhi on September 27, 2018.
Key areas of discussions during the workshop were (i) barriers in recruitment (ii) how Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 is an opportunity to improve HR practices and (iii) range of equal opportunities good practices for workplace. With sharp focus on addressing barriers (rather than impairment), the participants shared their experiences, learning and discussed practical solution relevant to the situations they face as employers or job seekers.
More than 20 employers and 45 participants from sectors like IT Business Processing, Financial Services, Retail, Hospitality and many others participated. The workshop ensured accessibility for all by providing sign language interpretation, material in alternate formats, etc. Job seeker’s perspective was provided by Persons with Disabilities who are employed in corporate sector and are seen as role models. The workshop format was highly interactive, engaging the participants through online mobile app based quiz, empathy building activities and case studies.
Mr Anup K Srivastava, CEO- Skill Council for Persons with Disabilities (ScPwD) touched upon the role of ScPwD in skilling of Persons with Disabilities in India and emphasized upon the need for creating inclusive work culture with accessibility and acceptability. Ms Anu Gupta, Head Skills and Inclusion, DFID highlighted how ecosystem level efforts in accessibility, inclusive education, policy – all have led to mainstreaming of disability inclusion initiatives. With that perspective DFID has launched multiple pilot initiatives to catalyze action towards accelerated recruitment across industry sectors. Mr P Rajasekharan, Co-founder of v-shesh said that this workshop was intended as a platform for employers to share their experience, learn from each other and understand job seeker’s perspective which will go a long way in paving the path for accelerating hiring and inclusion of Persons with disability.
Employers were at various stages in their journey of inclusion – some at thinking stage, some at early stage and some with inclusion already in practice since past few years. All the employers felt there were takeaways by learning through each other and mentioned specific pointers on how to move to next level in their journey of inclusion.
DFID plans to organize similar focused workshops across various states of India by targeting more sectors. This will generate awareness and sensitization among employers where hiring of PwDs is a business case.
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