The Tiruvallur district administration in Tamil Nadu has launched a career counselling program with a difference. It is different because the program is only meant for people with disabilities. A counselling centre was started to help them in their professional life and also improve their skills and financial status. The initiative which is just over three months old is already yielding good results, as many differently-abled people are now getting placed in jobs, or else, availing self-employment opportunities from the centre.
The idea was a brainchild of the District Collector of Tiruvallur, Mr. Ably John Varghese IAS, who in collaboration with NGO partner We Are Your Voice, started the employment counselling centre for the disabled in front of the collectorate. While speaking to Indian Masterminds, Mr Varghese explained in detail the objective of the initiative and also revealed what made him come up with the idea to start a career counselling centre for the differently-abled.
FILING PETITIONS
Mr. Varghese said that after coming to the district, he observed that people with disabilities were frequently coming to meet him to give petitions for employment. “They told me that since the pandemic began, they were facing a lot of difficulties in getting employment. It struck me then that when normal people find it difficult to get jobs, it must be even more difficult for differently-abled people to find employment.”
The district administration drew up a plan to provide a few differently-abled people with employment opportunities. Accordingly, a platform was built where requirements and demands can be matched. Mr. Varghese said, “We took this idea to an NGO named We Are Your Voice, which is working in the accessibility sector, and started a system where people with disabilities can come and get guidance on getting employment opportunities in various private companies.”
CAREER GUIDANCE
Despite having multiple schemes where disabled people can seek benefits, they still find it difficult to enter the private sector when it comes to employment. To counter this, the administration in collaboration with the NGO started the counselling centre in front of the collectorate itself.
A counsellor is present at the centre who conducts a career counselling session with the people who visit the centre and gets to know about their qualifications. At the same time, another person looks for local employers and connects them with the differently-abled people for job openings.
Mr. Varghese said, “To create awareness about the project, we send people to villages and other areas to identify many more people who would want to seek benefits from this counselling centre.”
Apart from employment opportunities, the centre also provides training to people with disabilities to improve their skills and offers self-employment opportunities through which they can start their own business. The counselling centre guides them on how to apply for loans and helps them with other banking processes for setting up their businesses.
Till now, around 100 people with disabilities have received employment benefits through this centre, which also includes people who have started their own businesses.
