Karnataka - Bangalore

Teaching the trainer

Interface: Participants interacting with members of the corporate world at a workshop to train them to empower persons with disabilities, in Bangalore.

BANGALORE: Technology, they say, can be a great enabler. Here is a corporate initiative that is trying to take computer skills and the enormous job opportunities presented by the IT (information technology) sector to people with disabilities.

Mphasis, a software company, in association with NGOs such as Diversity and Equal Opportunity Centre (DEOC) and the Association of People with Disabilities (APD), has launched a “Train the Trainer” programme as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

The five-day programme, which recognises the need for trainers who can train persons with disabilities and equip them with computer skills and other soft skills to help them get jobs, has 27 participants.

“Corporates these days do approach NGOs in order to include people with disabilities as part of their workforce. However, the problem lies in meeting the demands of this highly competitive field,” said Meenu Bhambhani, Manager, Community Initiatives, Mphasis.

Ms. Bhambani said statistics revealed that only a small section of people with disabilities had access to jobs in the corporate sector. Various factors contributed to this state of affairs.

Director, DEOC, Rama Chari, said, “A research project, conducted in Mandya, revealed that a sizeable number of persons with disabilities were qualified and awaited employment. It is a sorry situation because there is a lacuna between the NGOs that work with such people and the employment sector.”

The programme concentrates on various areas such as soft skills, personality development and mobilisation of resources to develop a good network with corporates, according to Ms. Bhambhani . “Most of these people who apply for jobs do not know how to deal with corporates. They need training in communication and need to acclimatise themselves to the requirements of this field,” she said.

Sowmya Simhan, a participant from Chennai, said, “About 98 per cent of the differently-abled come to the organisation to seek help in finding employment, which is the main concern. Most candidates we send for interviews are rejected.”

Another participant, who is the Employment Division in-charge at Nina Foundation, Mumbai, said, “We also need to sensitise the corporate sector and make them aware of the requirements of people with disabilities.”

Ms. Chari said this group also planned to conduct a peaceful demonstration at Water Gate, Delhi, to mobilise people with disabilities to fight for their rights, in view of the upcoming International Day of Disabled Persons on December 3.

“The 11th Five Year Plan states that every Ministry should have a plan on disability within six months. It has been a year now, but no change has come about. Thus, we need to put pressure on the Government to meet our demands or else, just as the Ninth and Tenth Five Year Plans, we will see no implementation,” she said.

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