Employment for persons with disabilities a rights issue: NCPEDP

New Delhi: A workshop on skilling youth with disabilities was successfully organized by NCPEDP- National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People in partnership with Youth4Jobs Foundation and Axis Bank on Monday.

The theme was to identify solutions to enhance the scope of employment of persons with disabilities - given the framework of the implications of the RPwD Act for the private sector. The discussions centered around creating sustainable employment opportunities for persons with disabilities by training them and also the important aspect of career progression.

Over 60 members from the development sector as well as corporates attended the same. During his keynote, Himanshu Mishra, Axis Bank said, "Axis bank emphasizes on diverse hiring which includes people with disabilities, and we understand that private/corporate sector needs to do their fair share to empower people with disabilities through employment".

Aradhana Lal, Vice President – Sustainability Initiatives at The Lemon Tree Hotel Company shared her perspective- "three things that are crucial to career progression: First is training - functional, technical, leadership and soft skills at all stages whether entry-level or supervisory. The second is setting up of processes and systems that are agnostic of who the manager is and whether he has a disability! The third is an open culture that does not discriminate against persons with disabilities."

Arman Ali, Executive Director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People also shared, "this workshop is the first step towards understanding and involving more people from across the country. Persons with disabilities still do not look at the private sector as a source of employment so there's a lot of work to be done. There should be options for people with disabilities in rural areas to be skilled in agricultural trade which allows them to live in their homes with their families".

In September 2019, Arman Ali had represented India at the 22nd Session of the Working Group of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, where a shift from the medical model of disability to the rights-based model and simultaneous removal of environmental and attitudinal barriers that prevent inclusion and equality were discussed. Key among them being the accessibility of transportation services, including transport concessions and licenses, accessibility of information and acceleration of the implementation of the barrier-free buildings- all of which are critical to the employment of persons with disabilities.

NCPEDP is committed to promoting the employment of persons with disabilities. They organize the Helen Keller awards every year, in association with Mindtree that recognize individuals, NGOs, and corporates who work towards creating employment for persons with disabilities. This workshop was a fitting prelude to the 20th edition of the Hellen Keller award. Ms. Meera Shenoy, founder, Youth4Jobs foundation also emphasized the need for more partnerships.