Bridging the gap to the ICT industry

IBM has developed a self-assessment questionnaire that EnAble India can use to assist companies to gage their readiness to hire people with disabilities, as well as a guide for following-up with interviews so as to identify gaps and opportunities to increase the employment of people with disabilities.

Problems Targeted

People with disabilities in India often lack information about available jobs and are not adequately equipped with the technologies or techniques that they could use to carry out various work activities. There are also prevailing myths and a lack of awareness about the skills and talents that people with disabilities can bring to a workplace, the variety of activities that they can carry out, and the advantages of hiring them.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

To tackle these problems, IBM supports EnAble India to effectively and efficiently offer the services of people with disabilities. To this end, IBM has developed a self-assessment questionnaire to gage the readiness of companies to hire people with disabilities, as well as a guide for following-up with interviews after a company has reviewed the questionnaire so as to identify gaps and opportunities to increase the employment of people with disabilities. After interviewing nine diversity leaders and reviewing and the best practices of companies, including their hiring practices and leadership values, EnAble India presented its findings at a round table of some 30 IT specialists from a large variety of firms, and the IBM project team then came together and developed a consulting model that maps companies into four levels of readiness concerning the employment of people with disabilities. In this way, the project helps these companies to customize solutions to fulfil their needs in terms of hiring people with disabilities. The team has also created a business plan that supports a company’s marketing activities and ensures its sustainability, and it has produced a report on the needs, barriers, and requirements with regard to the employment of people with disabilities.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

In the short term, IBM wants to support EnAble India to increase its productivity and improve its access to the market by using the newly developed consulting model to open new doors and push companies to complete a self-assessment of their hiring practices regarding people with disabilities, which then helps EnAble India to offer these companies tailor-made services and solutions. Going forward, new business software is being programmed, and the project brochure will be used to promote and expand EnAble India. IT professionals from many companies gather at a roundtable organized by EnAble India.

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