SPD: Employment and Training

It is stated in the AFRICAN DECADE OF DISABLED PEOPLE (2000 – 2009) that many persons with disabilities are denied employment or given only menial and poorly remunerated jobs. This is true even though it can be demonstrated that with proper assessment, training and placement, the great majority of people with disabilities can perform a large range of tasks in accordance with prevailing work norms. In times of un-employment and economic distress, people with disabilities are usually the first to be discharged and the last to be hired. In thus vein, the rate of unemployment among job-seekers with disabilities are double that of able-bodied applicants for jobs - bearing in mind that less than 1% of our disabled population are employed.

In an attempt to counter this problem we have instituted the following measures:

·      Database of prospective quality candidates with disabilities

·         Information seminars and conferences for employers and business regarding disability equity.

·         Accessibility assessment of the workplace.

·         Aftercare services to newly placed candidates.

·        Providing a Disability Management Toolkit to prospective employers.

Open Labour Market

People with disabilities capable of competing in the open labour market are placed when positions become available. This service provided by SPD endeavours to enhance economic independence and contribute to the Gauteng North community instead of people with disabilities being dependent on disability grants - it is our contribution to turning tax users into tax payers.

SPD Training

·         Social skills training to enhance personal relationships and skills training for job applications.

·         Providing a disability awareness training programme at SPD for employers and potential colleagues.

·         Computer literacy and office practise courses prepare candidates for successful placement. Courses are provided by SPD on our premises.

·         Entrepreneurial skills development through a Printing Project for economic self sustainability.

Recruiting and Placement

Disability recruiting and placement differs from other forms of placement because it is unfamiliar territory for most employers. The challenge is to change preconceived attitudes and perceptions by educating employers before they consider offering positions to disabled persons.   To achieve this, disability sensitisation programs (when required) for the employers, line managers and potential colleagues is essential, this way everyone is set up for success.

The first step many organisations take, wrongly, is to identify a post that can be filled by a disabled person (or create a new one). This is a condescending approach and in most cases is headed for failure.
 

Shosoloza Sewing Project

When referring to the poorest of the poor, hardly any group fits the description better than women with disabilities. Assessment of needs amongst persons with disabilities in Gauteng North revealed that lack of education and unemployment were major draw-backs for women with disabilities in communities, especially in the rural areas of the region.

To address the situation, a business plan was compiled to train a number of these women in sewing skills. When funds became available an instructor with vast experience of sewing and training of such skills was appointed. It was possible to renovate a facility and equip it with the necessary furniture, machines and sewing tools. A training curriculum was compiled and six women were screened.

The trainees were assisted with transport to travel to and from SPD offices where security systems were in place and the training monitored. In an amazingly short period of time all the trainees obtained pattern cutting skills, learned to embroider, sewed different types of children’s clothes and produced splash cushions for which a market was identified. The quality of the products surprised one and all.

“God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into the nest.”
J.G. Holland