Employment
Employment of Persons with Disabilities
Data on employment of Persons with Disabilities is very hard to come by. The data that is available from the UN tells that
- In developing countries, 80% to 90% of persons with disabilities of working age are unemployed
- In industrialized countries the figure is between 50% and 70%
- In most developed countries the official unemployment rate for persons with disabilities of working age is at least twice that for those who have no disability
The Indian Scenario
India has almost 3 crore people with disability (PwD) of which around 1.3 crore is employable but only 34 lakh of them have been employed across the organised sector, unorganised sector, government-led schemes or are self-employed. The country has a potential worker bandwidth of 3.4 lakh non-tech graduates, polytechnic and diploma holders who could be skilled and brought into mainstream services sector and knowledge industry to push per capita income.
As we see it at Vardaan, the change is coming, albeit slowly:
About 17,000 PwD students graduate in engineering or computer science and aligned streams anually. Of these graduates, the IT services sector employs around 8,000 PwDs whereas software product companies employ around 5,500 and the alternate tech talent.
Technology and retail are leading the way in skilling and creating employment opportunities for the PwD talent pool. The organized retail sector employs over 13,000 PwD professionals whereas over 8,000 PwD professionals are employed by the technology sector. The banking and financial services sector is an emerging employer for PwD talent wherein SBI is the largest employer of PwD in the back-office and front-office jobs.
What do we do at Vardaan?
- Comprehend Disability and the applicable laws for companies to understand them better
- Consult with companies to offer suitable support to employees with disabilities
- Create awareness within the organizations on disability and persons with disabilities
- Help improve infrastructure – conduct audit to give recommendations
Why Hire Persons with Disabilities?
- Persons with disabilities want a dignified and productive life
- Employment provides income and also occasions for social contribution
- Varied clusters of people progress faster and develop better resolutions to challenges
- Businesses have found that by engaging persons with disabilities they have been better able to understand and serve their customers with disabilities. Adjusting facilities and services to meet the various needs of persons with disabilities permits companies to develop greater flexibility, build reputation and reach out to a sizeable untapped market.
The problem is not how to wipe out the differences but how to unite with the differences intact – Rabindranath Tagore