EmployABILITY
EmployABILITY 2008
Equitable Employment opportunities For Persons with
Disabilities
EmployAbility 2008, the equal
opportunities job fair was held in New Delhi on 23-24 February,
2008 at the famous Pragati Maidan. EmployABILITY2008 was organized
by Ability Foundation and CavinKare in association with National
HRD Network (Delhi chapter) and Naukri.com.
The job fair had 800 registered candidates - some seeking
jobs and others already employed but looking for better prospects. They came
from 22 different states spanning the country. They had qualifications ranging
from graduation, post-graduation to vocational training and advanced courses in
computer applications. Fifty-one companies – national and multi-national
corporates – representing every aspect of industry came forward to interview
them.
V.Krishnamaurthy, Chairman, National Manufacturing
Competitiveness Council were on stage as EmployAbility2008, the equal
opportunities Job Fair to be held the following day was inaugurated.
The job fair was a two-day affair. On the 23rd
workshops were conducted by eminent HR people to help the candidates brush up
their interview skills. This was followed by written tests administered by some
of the participating companies. On the 24th Sunday, interviews were
held all day, with candidate getting opportunities to be interviewed by 7 to 10
companies each. Arrangements had been made for wheelchairs and sign language
interpreters. Scores of volunteers were on hand to help the candidates reach the
interview booths.
Mr. Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister made a brief visit
to the job fair on Sunday. He went round the stalls, observed interview
procedures and interacted with the organizers and the candidates. In a brief
formal function, he promised to implement the 1 lakh job scheme for people with
disabilities. He said 10,000 jobs (with compensation less than Rs. 25,000/-) in
the private sector would be supported by the government through payment of EPF
and ESI before 31 March, 2008.
EmployABILITY2008 generated a lot of interest among job
aspirants with disabilities and the corporates from various sectors of the
economy.
EmployABILITY 2006
was held in Chennai on 17
December 2006. Jointly organized by Ability Foundation, Lions Club of
Padi-Shenoynagar and the CII, this third edition of the Job Fair established
three well-defined trends.
The first was the organisation:
there was total, hassle-free co-ordination at the two venues on 16 and 17
December. On the 16th aspiring candidates were given an orientation
course by experts in the field. The course included tips on how to face
interviews and how to maintain confidence levels. This was also the day when
some companies conducted their written tests prior to the face-to-face
interviews the next day. Organisers and volunteers made sure that the candidates
attended seminars and wrote pre-interview tests on 16 and faced the interviews
on 17, without discomfort.
The second and third are the
statistics. More than a thousand candidates were interviewed by nearly 70
potential employers. Candidates came from 13 states from all over the country.
If there were chartered accountants who were blind, there were also civil and
mechanical engineers who were orthopaedically impaired. There were any number of
computer savvy candidates proving once again that recent technology has
“flattened” the field of opportunities. The profile of corporate houses looking
for candidates was a total turnaround from the last two years: 66% were from the
non-IT sector representing hospitality, construction, logistics, manufacture,
catering, etc.
This means two things: as the
economy booms, there is a severe dearth of qualified manpower. And the Job Fair
gave the employers the opportunity to hire trained, qualified talent. Mr. P.
Chidambaram, Union Minister for Finance, visited the Job Fair and appreciated
the efforts.
EmployABILITY
2005
The success of Employability 2004 has made this unique
job fair an annual feature. What was “unthinkable”
a year ago had given way to the “much awaited”!
On 18 December 2005, nearly 2000 qualified disabled people
waited for their interviews in spite of heavy overnight
rains. Exploding myths about people with disabilities
is becoming routine for us…
Potential turned into job prospect as
representatives of 50 companies, many of them outside
the IT/ITES sector briskly interviewed the candidates
all day. While for many of the young job aspirants this
was the first job interview, there were others with experience
hoping to climb the corporate ladder. The message at the
end of the day was clear. More and more people with disabilities
today are acquiring superior qualifications and the companies
can ignore this pool of talent only at their own peril.
EmployABILITY 2004 To many,
it seems that we did the unthinkable or should we say,
unimaginable! 19th December 2004. A hallmark date for
the disability sector in India. Ability Foundation decided
to extend the benefits of its Placement Wing to a wider
segment. We organised a job opportunities fair for graduates
and above with disabilities. We managed to explode several
myths
that day…
Among the 32 corporate companies whom we brought together
to participate, several were flabbergasted to discover
such untapped potential within the disabled population.
For many from among the 800 odd disabled candidates who
had been shortlisted and cleared for the interviews, this
was a bright new hope in the horizon. Many were attending
interviews for the first time in their lives, after so
many years of rejection on grounds of disability.
Perhaps for the first time, employers looked at the certificates
they held and not their disability. EmployABILITY
2004 paved the way for candidates with disability
to meet and connect with unbiased, discerning employers,
to display their job skills and to make an implicit demand
that they be hired on merit alone.