Wasting Skills in South Africa: Overlooking Disabled Employees
Mark T. Richards, ILRU
The progressive advancements in information technology over the past few years have had a significant impact on accessibility for people with disabilities. Not only have new developments enhanced their personal lives, but the technology also opens a whole new arena of employment skills well suited for people with disabilities. Yet South Africa seems reluctant to use this new work force.
Recently, Business Day interviewed Beth Cook, CEO of Progression, a consulting company that puts together "high-level proposals for companies to enable them to approach the relevant sector education and training authority for the funding of leadership and training initiatives for staff with disabilities."
"South Africa," the magazine relates Cook as saying, "is far behind most western countries in the employment and accommodation of the disabled. In the UK there is free training and access to technology for the disabled from a very young age, but in South Africa there are few such learning facilities."
Though South Africa labor legislation emphasizes the importance of hiring people with disabilities, most companies do not, including the Information Technology (IT) sector.
Cook says that is a shame. The IT sector, which is short on skills, is a perfect arena for people with disabilities. "IT is one of the easiest working environments for the disabled, especially in terms of programming because jobs like this are office-bound, but only .33% of the workforce in this sector is disabled," Cook relates.
According to Business Week, six percent of the South African population have disabilities, and Cook predicts the next census will show 12% of the population is disabled.
Naturally, misinformation and apprehension are the main factors in this dilemma.
"Many companies want to employ disabled people, but don't know where to start. And companies tend to 'think of disabled people as being sick or needing preferential treatment and management and time off.'"
Issues like mobility, logistics, accommodation of wheelchairs and resultant costs cloud potential employers' judgment.
Yet people with disabilities easily keep their skills current using e-learning, without having to move out of their office or home environment, if they are equipped with a PC, says Cook.
That's where Cook's company steps in. Progression "puts together a strategy for employing and accommodating disabled people, and hold workshops for members of staff who will be working with them."
How ironic that the very industry that develops technology for people with disabilities is one of the industries in South Africa that could benefit most from seeing their product in action, but has yet to do so.
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