The founder chairperson of ADAPT (formerly The Spastics Society of India), Dr Mithu Alur, launched a research study on Friday in the area of inclusive employment for individuals with disabilities. To combat occupational marginalisation of people with disabilities, ADAPT, along with Citi Bank, has started a project that focuses on conducting need-based analyses that assesses the strengths of such individuals and match those with the needs of a company.
Alur said: “Companies need to invest more in learning about disabilities.” She claimed that a gap analysis conducted according to data obtained from the Census (2011) revealed that 1.34 crore people with disabilities are in the employable bracket of 15-59 years. Dr. Ketna Mehta, the founder of Nina Foundation, said: “The limited curriculums followed by educational institutes, the protective environment created by parents and corporate social responsibility (CSR) that identifies disabled people as social obligations are barriers to inclusive employment.”
Aimed at facilitating work preparedness for individuals with disabilities, the project emphasises on vocational and skill training, improving awareness among organisations, counseling and inclusive policy interventions. Another important step is holistic development of an individual at the workplace by implementing several infrastructure and social measures.
“Inclusive employment does not mean providing shelter to the disabled, it means increasing their interactions with the outside world by creating an enabling social environment. A nation must look after the challenges faced by its disadvantaged,” Alur said.
