|
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.
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.
Placement Wing
The right to work to the best of one’s
capability and qualification, is everyone’s right – so too for a disabled
person. However, some guidance, sensitisation and proper routing in this
direction is necessary, not only for the candidate seeking employment, but also
for the potential employer who mostly does not think of employing a disabled
person. Ability Foundation's Placement Wing acts as a stepping-stone, catalysing
employment opportunity from both sides of the fence.
If you are a qualified disabled person and
are in need of a job in India, you are welcome to
contact our Placement Wing.
National Centre for
Information and Communication Technology (NCICT)
Ability Foundation is
also a strong advocate of inclusive education at all levels and acts as a
catalyst in promoting inclusive education.
Offering disabled
people choices in higher education, access to change and mainstream employment
has been an important part of our work. This, we believe, is a crucial step
towards bringing to the fore their latent talents and changing the stereotypic
images generally associated with them.
Mainstream employment
today, more than ever before, hinges on knowledge of various levels of
Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Our National Centre for
Information and Communication Technology (NCICT) seeks to impart
state-of-the-art computer education and life skills that prepare graduates with
disability to strike out on their own in today’s demanding corporate
workplace. What initially began as part time computer training for hearing
impaired persons, soon culminated in the establishment of our NCICT– initially
set up as a pilot project in the country in association with UNESCO. Today,
NCICT offers holistic and comprehensive job-oriented education to graduates
with hearing / visual / orthopaedic impairments.
If you wish to enroll
yourself with us for any of our courses,Contact Us
|