---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Technical Training Institute <[email protected]> Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:32:00 +0530 Subject: [DFI] Conference for better educational, vocational and employment opportunities for People with Disabilities. To: [email protected] Cc: Anita Iyer <[email protected]>
Beyond Disabilities, Infinite Possibilities: Conference 2012, Pune For better educational, vocational and employment opportunities for People with Disabilities. EKansh cordially invites a. policy making representatives of > Equal Opportunity Employers > Academic Institutions > NGOs and other organizations working towards mainstreaming PwD. b. Disability rights activists from within and outside the community who have contributed to the cause and have workable suggestions c. Family members / care givers of People with Disabilities who have workable suggestions Dates 19th and 20th July, 2012 Venue: One Earth, Suzlon, Pune Timings: Day 1 - 19th July 2012 - 11AM - 5 PM Day 2 - 20th July 2012 - 10.00 AM - 5PM .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. If you would like to participate, Kindly email us a short note [500 words max] introducing yourself , your organization and your interest in the conference- also including the following details:- Name: Name of Organization: Telephone Numbers [Mobile and land lines]: Email Address: Postal Address: Kindly ensure that your mail reaches us by 15th May. Please send your mail to [email protected] or [email protected] A registration fee of Rupees 500 per participant will apply. Participants will have to make arrangements for their own travel and stay. We can share the contact details of a local travel representative on request. You will be informed of all formalities on receipt of your mail. .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. Kindly read the following commentary fully to understand what the conference is about and if you think you can contribute towards better educational, training or employment opportunities for PwD and would like to participate, please fill out our contact forms with details. This conference will not be the usual STAGED event with self nominated experts on a panel talking down to a captive audience. It will be a closed door meeting of people who are willing to discuss issues as they stand and help formulating a strategy for improvement. 21st March 2012: The following commentary from the Founder and Managing Trustee of EKansh Trust has been shared with journalists from leading Pune Newspapers via email. EKansh Trust, Pune was launched in April 2009 as a website/repository of information. Since then EKansh has come alive and made much progress in its aim to spread awareness, acceptance and sensitivity towards issues related to Disabilities. EKansh Trust also works towards mainstreaming People with Disabilities [ PwD]. Education and Employment are two big points of our focus. In 2010, EKansh Trust organized a job fair for PwD where 16 large companies participated from the IT and Manufacturing sectors. This means companies are willing to consider employing PwD. Out of almost 1200 candidates that attended, hardly 10% were graduates or post graduates. Most MN IT companies ask for graduation as the minimum requirement. That means 90% of our PwD do not qualify for jobs. It also means that they aspire to go beyond handicraft and manual work to look at better employment options. It is time to analyze this situation. EKansh plans on another job fair for PwD soon but would like more understanding of all aspects before beginning to work towards The situation WRT PwD in Pune today is as under a. We do not have a ready count of graduates b. Most candidates at our job fair were either school or college drop outs c. Those that are graduates are not fluent in English. d. While MSCIT is being offered in different institutions, the trainers are not fluent in English. This being the case, Microsoft Word and Excel and Internet Browsing cannot be taugh used to any satisfactory level by the candidates. e. Spelling, pronunciation, conversational skills, etc all need to be worked upon. Conclusion is that there are very few candidates with disabilities in Pune that are graduates and fluent in English and therefore in a position to be employed by IT companies that approach us on a regular basis. The obvious solutions for this are as under: a. The education system needs to be overhauled to include students with disabilities and educate them to an employable level. While the UGC talked about Sign Language Interpreters in all universities, we don’t have any fully qualified interpreters at all in Pune. As for the schools for the VI, most are struggling to find full time English Language Teachers to ensure that their computer and BPO courses benefit their students. b. Students with disabilities must be encouraged by their families to complete their education and not drop out midway. c.Accessibility of all educational institutes must be reviewed. We see students with orthopedic disabilities crawling along the corridors of some so called inclusive colleges. This is by no means inclusion. d. English must be recognized as a tool for communication and not a threat to the mother tongue. It MUST be taught from primary level onwards. There is documented proof that being multilingual reflects and enables better learning skills. e. Social interaction must be encouraged to ensure that confidence and communication levels are not affected by the disabilities and related stigmas. Our suggestions for Employers: Steps to be taken a. Realize that though they are equal opportunity employers, equal opportunity in education is still not effective in India – especially Pune and Mumbai b. Realize that a graduate degree in Botany or History will not help someone work better in an entry level job involving excel sheets or MS Word. c. Realize that there is an entire generation of employable youth being left out of employment options because of the lack of educational and training support. d. Relax their recruitment policies in recognition of these facts e. Partner with organizations to train PwD for entry level jobs and pick the best for their own companies leaving the rest of the candidates qualified for jobs elsewhere. f. Most multinational companies have their own training programs for regular staff. These modules can be adapted for the benefit of PwD. Corporate Social Responsibility does not end at interviewing candidates, short-listing them and then citing company rules and requirements as a barrier in recruiting them. EKansh Trust is in discussions with experts from Heads of different Academic Institutions, HR heads, Corporate Trainers, NGOs, Government authorities, Disability activists, etc for the conference in July on how to make PwD more employable and to then decide on educational and training modules to put into place using and improving the available infrastructure with the help of corporate houses and our government authorities. We are therefore inviting participants who can make and/or influence decisions. Our primary focus group would be people with physical and sensory disabilities. EKansh Trust is working hard towards trying to forge this kind of a symbiotic culture between employers and candidates with disabilities. Support from academicians, HR experts, Corporate Trainers, Counsellors, etc would be greatly appreciated. Although Pune is called the Oxford of the East and is now the hub of industrial progress, this lacuna continues to exist and indeed grow. Please write to [email protected] or [email protected] or fill our contact form on this website to connect with us. Dr. Homiyar Mobedji, CEO, Technical Training Institute, Pune Blind Men's Association. E-mail: [email protected] Mobile: +91 7875466344 Office: +91 20 26870986 +91 20 26870609 Skype ID: dr.homiyarmobedji Address: 109, Dr. Helen Keller road, At the foot of Ram Tekri, Hadapsar, Pune 411013. 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