Local group offers training to boost employability of diff-abled

CHENNAI: To promote the employability of differently-abled persons, a local organisation is conducting a one-month training programme that imparts employability skills to graduates among them. LinkAbility has thus far trained 200 graduates, including special training for online interviews, to help combat the intense layoffs during the pandemic.

Established officially in 2017, LinkAbility by the Ability Foundation is a four-week programme that trains differently-abled people in resume drafting, interview skills, English communication and pointers to crack aptitude tests. Resource persons and trainers also assist in personality development and technology training. The organisation has trained around 200 diff-abled graduates across ten sessions.

“While there is a large number of differently-abled people with graduate degree, employability of such persons is very low. They need refinement in areas like computer skills, interview tips, and resume preparations. We train them on these skills, and even give them mock interviews to prepare them properly for employment,” said Bharathi Sekhar, director – operations, Ability Foundation.

With the changing needs during the pandemic, LinkAbility has added online classes that are fully accessible, with physically-challenged people across the country attending the courses. They have also included training programmes on online interviews and presentations via video-calling applications. However, a major concern remains to be changing attitudes among employers after the lockdown.

“During lockdown, most employers saw diffabled people as the ‘first to go, last to return’ in workplaces. We want them to be fully prepared and ready for the smoothest transition to the workforce,” said Sekhar.

Several reports in India have spoken of rising unemployment rates among diff-abled people