DFID India-SCPwD workshop lays out policy level recommendations for trainings for disabled youth

DFID India in collaboration with Skill Council for Persons with Disability (SCPwD) held an online workshop to disseminate the findings of an innovative pilot training programmes for people with disabilities implemented in 2019-20.

DFID India in collaboration with Skill Council for Persons with Disability (SCPwD) held an online workshop to disseminate the findings of an innovative pilot trainings for persons with disabilities which was jointly implemented in 2019-20.

The pilots were implemented by Muskaan, National Association of Blind India Centre (NAB) and V-Shesh. The aim was to explore job opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities and visual impairments in sectors like hospitality, retail, beauty and wellness, IT and food processing.

For the first time the programme created recommendations for policy level changes to scale up trainings for these youth. This was possible by adapting standards, teacher training, on-boarding of employers from the beginning and aligning course curriculums.

This pilot has given us confidence that given the right training and right environment, coupled with accessibility and acceptability will make persons with disability, execute at the same skill level, at par with their peers. – Anup Srivastava, CEO, Skill Council for Persons with Disability

Key Recommendations

• Development of new QP/ NOS for persons with Intellectual disabilities.
• Flexibility in entry qualification for disabled people.
• Trainers, assessors, employers and peers to be sensitised about disabled people to break myths.
• Inclusion of pre-training module and increased course duration for enhanced learning/
• Job coach/caregiver support during training period.
• Facilitate usage of assistive technology/inclusive learning material.
• Promote internship/apprenticeship over theory to give practical experience to candidates.

P Rajasekharan, Co-founder, v-shesh said lack of digital accessibility is a major barrier. “The lack of digital accessibility at the workplace is the biggest barrier for persons with visual impairment. Removing this barrier will pave way for opening many doors for employment for skilled individuals with vision impairment”.

“The government should have a policy to promote the supported work center for persons with intellectual disabilities as an employment option”, said Dr Shanti Auluck, Muskaan.. Without this, nearly 90% of people with intellectual disabilities will remain out of training and employment, she added.

The active participants made meaningful suggestions on inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and visual impairments in skill training and employment. A summary of recommendations will be shared with the government for policy changes.