Few companies willing to hire disabled: activists : Chennai

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Recruit candidates for internships and learn about their strength and needs, experts tell firms

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Six years after he graduated from an engineering college in Nagercoil, 26-year-old Paunraj has finally managed to get a job here.

“From being a telephone operator to remaining unemployed for months, I have faced everything,” said the systems analyst, who has a physical disability and who was recruited by Flextronics last year. “The call from the company came when I was completely distraught. Now everything is fine, as the company has not only given me a separate toilet, but has also arranged for easy an commute,” he said.

Not everyone has a story like Paunraj’s. Of the 650 companies in the city, barely 30 are willing to recruit persons with disabilities, activists said. And in many cases, the online aptitude test adopted by companies to filter candidates only adds to the woes of the disabled.

Speaking at a meeting organised by Leonard Cheshire Disability recently, activists spoke about the need to sensitise companies on hiring people with disabilities.

“Many company heads feel making toilets accessible for disabled people is a huge investment. Also, not many have technology that suits visually challenged people,” said Ashok Kumar, project manager, Leonard Cheshire Disability.

There is discrimination even among the disabled, he added. About 80 per cent of the candidates placed are those with locomotive disabilities, there are very few takers for visually challenged people, and even fewer for those with speech and hearing impairments.

Kala Jayashankar, mother of an engineering graduate with hearing impairment, said she has accompanied her daughter to seven job fairs until now, but her daughter has not been able to find an employer. “They have a quick online test on software concepts and general aptitude. She is not yet used to it. Also, employers give no concession to these candidates, unless they recruit under them under their corporate social responsibility scheme,” she said.

Mr. Ashok said activists were in talks with IT companies to bring in changes to their policies.

“None of the companies has apprenticeships or internships in their hiring policy. We are asking them to recruit our candidates and provide them some training to get to know their strengths, and not reject them on the basis of their online test results. Also, we have requested a few companies to train some of their HR managers in sign language,” he said. 

Source : The Hindu , 24th Jan 2014