Sharad Kumar enjoys his work as at a city-based MNC. He is glad that the company appreciates his skills. But to get this job was no less an ordeal for this wheelchair-bound computer operator. “Despite the fact that I am perfectly qualified for the position, I had to struggle a lot to be here,” he says.
There were many hurdles on his way to employment. First of all Sharad didn’t know how to approach the right companies willing to hire people with disabilities and then going out for interviews, which involves travelling by public transport, was a daunting task for him.
Even when he attended a few interviews, things didn’t shape well. “Most of the questions I had to face weren’t job related. The interviewers were strangely curious about the way I carry out my day-to-day activities. It was as if they were hell bent to prove me unproductive,” he says. Saranga Prasad had to quit her job at an MNC because there were no arrangements for a person with special needs. “I think the company hired me out of pity. Why would I want that?” says the 25-year-old who’s visually challenged. “It’s simple, instead of demoralising me, why can’t the offices be made disabled-friendly,” says Saranga, who adds that a few companies, even if opening doors to the people with disabilities, don’t have the right arrangements for them.
According to Aruna Rangachar Pohl, Cheshire Disability Trust, a member of the Leonard Cheshire Disability Global Alliance, is working towards improving the opportunities for disabled people and there are many aspects that need to be looked at when it comes to devising livelihood facilities for the disabled. She narrates how to her shock a recruiter blatantly told her that they couldn’t have a person crawl in the office. “Ok, if you can’t have him crawl in the office, then make your office disabled-friendly,” she replied. “What’s lacking is awareness that a physically-challenged person is not a burden on the society. Also, he knows well how to deal and live with his disability. It’s us who need to change our outlook towards them,” she says. Aruna says that her organisation has launched a job portal called jobability.com to bridge the gap between the job seekers and employees. Talking about the website, she says, “The website is a focus group where from the sea of candidates, the employees can zoom in on the talent suited for their job,” she says.
“The portal caters to people with visual, hearing, speech, loco motor and mild-intellectual disability. What companies look for in every disabled person is the skills and thus they provide training as per their requirement. We have deaf and visually impaired people training in courses like hospitality, computer training for data entry, jewellery designing, carpentry etc.,” she says.
Companies like Costa Coffee, Thomson Reuters, Eureka Forbes and KFC already have interesting placement programs for employees with special needs but what’s lacking is effective implementation.