Employers join EFC and take job seeking skills to the north and east

Tuesday, 3 December 2013 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) joined forces with employer members in November to train disabled charities, NGOs and institutions in job seeking skills for the disabled community. Last month, the EFC teamed up with some of its member organisations and headed up to the north and east of the country to run a series of workshops on job seeking skills for disabled communities. The initiative was designed to raise awareness about employment options for disabled people, many of whom are misguided into believing that they will not be accepted into the world of work. The workshops were conducted as part of the ILO LEEDS project in the north and for Handicap International in the east.

The EFC’s Disability Network has been in existence for over 13 years and is one of the longest running disability networks in the world. It has placed over 500 disabled persons in employment and trained over 900 in IT skills to help better their chances of securing a job. The network has 38 member organisations committed to bringing the disabled community into mainstream employment. Negative mindset Following a series of meetings with various charities and also from working directly with the disabled community to find job placements, the EFC has long been aware that many disabled people think that they will be rejected from organisations because of their disability and so do not even attempt to apply for jobs. This misconception is sometimes further reinforced by members of their family and even some disabled organisations looking after such persons. Many assumed that suitable jobs would be advertised specifically as ‘disabled jobs’ and had no idea that an equal opportunities employer would not do this. The idea that they could apply for any job as long as they could carry out the duties regardless of their disability was a complete shock to some. The mindset of all these stakeholders seemed to firmly entrenched in the ‘disability’ of the person rather than the ‘ability’. This was the challenge for EFC’s Disability Network; how to change the disabled mindset? Job-seeking workshop With the help of the ILO’s Disability Network in Geneva, the EFC constructed a job-seeking workshop that would be relevant to Sri Lanka and specifically sensitive to the social and cultural specifics in both the north and the east. The network invited charities, NGOs and all relevant institutions to attend by bringing one trainer and one disabled job seeker from each organisation. To deliver the workshop the EFC thought who better to speak about jobs than the employers themselves. Cargills Food City, MAS, Standard Chartered Bank and John Keells Cinnamon and Chaaya Resorts all supported the workshops giving training in CV construction, Interview techniques, where to find job vacancies and how to respond to them. All the employers busted the myths about disability in the workplace. “Being physically challenged should not mean being disqualified from mainstream society. We should all have access to every aspect of life,” said Shiham Ghouse, Training and Development Executive from John Keells, Cinnamon and Chaaya Resorts. He added: “It is our duty and responsibility to ensure that all are treated equally.” Employee views To add more weight and integrity to the message that there really is a place for disabled people in at work, the employers were also asked to invite any of their disabled employees who wished to participate. Visually impaired trainee Arumuganathan who was placed by the EFC at Cargills Food City in Nelliady spoke very movingly about her apprehension when called for interview and her elation at finding out she had the job. She also spoke about the empowerment she felt at being able to contribute to her family finances when she received her first salary. Physically-impaired participant Puspakaran said of the workshop: “I am really happy because I thought others don’t know how people with disabilities are facing problems when they find jobs but I now realise that EFC supports so many people. This workshop increased my confidence that I can find a permanent job.” Neshakumar, Cargills Group Business Development manager for the north, conducted a very interactive and thought-provoking session in changing the disabled mindset. “Workshops like this will motivate disabled persons to look for job opportunities and all them to move forward from the prevailing negative mindset.” He added: “Commitment from companies pertaining to providing jobs to this segment of the community also can be enhanced.” Effectiveness of the workshops When asked about the effectiveness of the workshops, Gayani Ranasinghe, HR Executive for MAS said: “The workshops enable us to connect better with organisations and disabled individuals to be gainfully employed in the private sector.” One of the sessions that was most popular was that of Upul from MAS and Tenakoon from Cargills Food City Jaffna. Both speech impaired employees told via signing of how their lives had been transformed from the benefits and support they get from being employed. The passion and professionalism from both presenters had a huge impact on participants. “This is my first time in participating in a workshop like this,” exclaimed Sajeevan. “I now feel that I also can live with respect and happiness in the community. I believe I can increase my quality of life and I realised that I don’t want to depend on others.”