Harnessing the potential of the Visually Impaired: A study on employment of Visually Impaired persons in mainstream industry

In the efforts towards rehabilitation of persons with impairments, including visual impairment, employment and employability is definitely of utmost importance. In a country like India, where there is a strong correlation between poverty and incidence of visual impairment, coupled with underdeveloped social security system, the financial burden of maintaining such persons often becomes the biggest hurdle in their rehabilitation. Despite commendable work of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in providing various types of trainings to the visually impaired, including pre-employment training, the absorption of such persons into mainstream business establishments has been dismal.  This study was initiated as an attempt to identify gaps in the employment of visually challenged and offer practical solutions for harnessing their potential.

The primary objectives of this research included:

·         Understanding the challenges faced by  the visually impaired and their support needs

·         Understanding the opportunities available as well as the expectations of the employment market with respect to employing the visually impaired

·         Studying the training initiatives and programmes made available by the government as well as NGO’s working for the visually impaired.

·         Studying the general policies and practices in private organizations related to the employment of the visually impaired.

The primary data was collected from a sample of 45 visually impaired respondents, in the working age group between 20 – 40 years, 8 Non Governmental Organizations, and, Governmental bodies, engaged in the rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired in Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi, Chennai Bangalore and representatives from various private companies from across industries, including information technology, BPO, healthcare, finance, HR, manufacturing and education..

The key findings of the study have been summarized below.

·         The findings have indicated that one of the biggest barriers to employment of the visually challenged is lack of adequate communication skills, particularly English, with over 38% of the respondents citing this as a major impediment. This is quite understandable, given that according to some reports, over 80% of the visually challenged are from rural and backward areas of the country, and as such are doubly disadvantaged by lack of access to language training. Additionally another 21% of respondents have suggested the need for more job oriented training programs which include a lot of emphasis on communication skills and which are in tune with the requirements of potential employers. While many NGOs have initiated job oriented training like “BPO” or “Call Center” training, there is definitely scope for many more such initiatives that can help translate the practical on the job requirements into easy modules for students.

·         Another major issue highlighted by this study is the attitudinal barrier among potential employers, primarily due to misconceptions and low awareness on the kind of jobs that a visually impaired can work in. 71% of the respondents cited attitudinal barrier to be a major hindrance to employment of persons with visual impairment. It was also observed that visually impaired persons in jobs ordinarily performed by sighted persons are either faced with expectations which are sometimes unrealistic or are completely sidelined from mainstream activities in the regular working environment.  Hence there seems to be a huge need to orient employers, managers and coworkers to enable them to understand, support and utilize the skills and potential of the visually challenged in the most productive way.

Conclusion

Accessible and integrated training program is the need of the hour. No doubt organizations working for the visually impaired are doing commendable work but a lot is yet to be done if the full potential of the visually impaired is to be realized. Keeping in mind that each visually impaired is different and so are the needs, a proper assessment of each individual is crucial so as to have a clear cut idea on the strengths  and challenges of every individual, so as to be able to  designing appropriate training programs, and guide them into the right careers.

The training programs should extensively concentrate on all aspects of communication and also provide psychological support, especially building self esteem, confidence and motivation and overall personality development. Areas like leadership training, people management, responding to conflict are still unexplored, and can be a game changer for many of the visually impaired. The training programs should simultaneously enhance the skills of the visually impaired and job oriented programs that match available opportunities in tune to the changing market needs so as to make them more employable. . This will definitely go a long way in harnessing the potential of the visually impaired.

Private companies should throw open internships opportunities to the visually impaired, which can act as a training ground for them to take on regular jobs in future. Additionally organizations serious about equal opportunity employment should take the additional initiative of orientation of recruiters, manager and also staff to the potential as well as challenges faced by the visually impaired, so as to enable meaningful absorption and utilization of such persons into mainstream employment.

With more constructive cooperation between the NGOs and private organizations, there is ample scope for development and rehabilitation of persons with visual impairment into mainstream employment, thus making a marked difference to their personal lives as well as adding additional resource pool for organizations to tap into.

About PeopleEquity

PeopleEquity is a human resources consulting organization working on developing the potential of the visually impaired since 2007. PeopleEquity has initiated a unique “Sixth Sense Program”, targeted at providing visually-challenged professionals an opportunity to experience and learn from live working environment and thereby develop themselves personally & professionally. Over the last five years over 15 visually challenged persons have benefitted from this program and now work at governmental and private organization, utilizing their potential to a greater extent. PeopleEquity is working towards expanding this program through partnerships with NGOs, private organizations and entrepreneurs who are committed to the cause of rehabilitation of persons with visual impairment.