A Job Portal For Aspirants With Disabilities, courtesy Nasscom

Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies) is going to launch a dedicated job portal that will facilitate recruitment for persons with disability by creating a repository of applicants, available skill-sets and potential recruiters.

This is one of the first initiatives that Nasscom has taken after the formation of Nasscom’s disability advisory group (DAG). In a bid to facilitate the empowerment of individuals with disabilities, Nasscom Foundation is trying to leverage the Information and Technology applications. Their aim is to use technology to serve the under served communities and reduce the gaps in the IT marketplace which hinder their chances.

As per the Nasscom Foundation, the major thrust areas for the community are,

• Web Accessibility
• Employment for Differently abled
• Affordability of ICT applications and tools

The Web Accessibility issue was an eye opener for me. It is surprising that even after the Union Government ruling that all websites need to be disabled friendly, only about 5000 websites are WCAG 2.0 compliant(International Standard For disabled friendly websites).

Javed Abidi (@javed_abidi), a supporter for the cause of differently abled, believes that the creation of an industry forum can make an impact. Internationally, it is mandated that websites be WCAG. 2.0 Compliant (an international standard that ensures websites are disabled-friendly) and electronic goods are disability-friendly. “What has held us behind?” he asked.

NASSCOM is trying to create awareness amongst both public and private sector to ensure that the websites,User manuals and various other technology related products and services provided are easily understood and accessible for the differently abled persons too.

The Job portal is expected to increase the participation of the the differently abled aspirants in the technology space.With a central repository in place for differently abled aspirants and their skill sets, DAG would be hoping that potential recruiters will have better access to the hugely overlooked section of society. It could also set an example for other members of the society to educate themselves and develop industry specific skill sets. Nasscom through its foundation has been catering to empower the differently abled sector and they have shared a few of those initiatives here.

Nasscom is one of the most sought after in the Information Technology space. Such initiatives from them will definitely go a long way in empowering the differently abled youth to make their mark and not be bogged down owing to the lack of opportunities. The onus will also be on both the public and private sector industries for the upliftment of this section of society.

What are your thoughts on the initiative ?

Given Nasscom’s reputation and connect with the IT sector, it does look like that DAG will be able to achieve significant results for the upliftment of the differently abled section of the society.