Job fair for the disabled
By Quintus Perera
The Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC) is organising a Job Fair at the Galadari Hotel on July 3 where some member companies of the EFC would interview close to 80 differently-abled people to recruit or train them in their companies.
CEI Plastics Ltd employs around 35 disabled persons - among them 23 visually impaired and eight totally blind persons. Anver Dole, Factory Director said that most of them are employed in the packing department sticker pasting section. While regular workers average 200 to 250 per hour, handicapped workers total more than double at 450 to 500. A telephone operator, a graduate, is totally blind while two other such physically impaired workers are reading to be graduates.
Leisure Line Ltd, a garment-manufacturing factory employs five disabled persons. All of them are deaf. Sanjeewa Jayatilleke, Human Resources Division of the factory said they are prepared to recruit more handicapped workers who meet their requirements.
Jayatilleke said he didn't like to call them handicapped as they were as normal as the others where work and efficiency are concerned. These handicapped employees could be classified as more superior in work, he said.
Most of the places The Sunday Times FT contacted which employ handicapped persons said that they were extremely satisfied and considered them better or on par with workers without handicaps.
According to EFC sources, more than 70 physically handicapped persons are employed in its member companies. The EFC with the assistance and support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) is setting up an Employee Network on Disability aimed at facilitating employment and training opportunities in the private sector for disabled job seekers. The project is also supported by the Social Services Department. It has held a number of awareness programmes among its 450-strong membership on this issue and has prepared a database consisting of approximately 1,500 jobs for the disabled.
Motivation Charitable Trust is a British registered development agency working in partnership with local organizations to carry out comprehensive programmes to improve the survival rate and also rehabilitate and reintegrate people with disabilities. It has been operating in Sri Lanka since 1997.
Ms. Sharmini Constantinescu, Manager, Employer Placement Programme, Motivation Charitable Trust, said they are currently involved in a five-year disability supportive programme, entirely funded by USAID addressing several areas. Among these areas is an Employment Placement Project intended to create opportunities for people with disabilities, which is done with support from EFC and ILO.
The programme is to train handicapped people on job seeking skills. Up to now they have trained about 80 physically disabled people on job seeking skills - in line with ILO standards - who are now ready to face interviews of prospective employers.
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