People With Disabilities Can Expect Humongous Hiring: Dr.Alim S. Chandani, AVP– Centum Foundation, Centum Learning
Centum-GRO will be hosting its first Indian Sign Language Interpreter Retreat (workshop) themed ‘Enhancing and Strengthening Interpreting Skills in India’. Dr.Alim S. Chandani, AVP– Centum Foundation, Centum Learning talks to BW Businessworld regarding the same. Edited Excerpts:
What is the main motive behind the interpreters retreat workshop?
Sign language translation is going to be a mandatory and essential service at all institutional information-transaction centres to ensure barrier-free communication. Especially now, when the Deaf community is whole-heartedly vouching for employment rights, there exists a massive need to provide quality and ethical interpreting services which will facilitate the general awareness about ‘equal opportunities’ and ‘diversity and inclusion at workplace’. With this requirement, the Centum-GRO workshop will provide the perfect opportunity for experienced interpreters to gather and deliberate upon ‘successes’, the ‘challenges’ and the ‘next steps’ related to the field of sign language translation in India.
How will skilling people with disabilities benefit India?
According to the 2011 census, India has a massive population of persons with disabilities. But how many of us know that persons with disability are entitled to same fundamental rights as any other citizen of India. Skilling persons with disabilities provide means and sources of livelihood. Having a dignified vocation enables them to aim higher and work towards achieving those dreams. Consequently, they can be at par with their non-disabled peers. It will eventually bring visibility to the community and at the same time sensitivity and awareness amongst non-disabled and abled society and about the significance of diversity and inclusion. Skilled people with disabilities support the concept of inclusion whole-heartedly and working hard towards realization of their rights of fair employment and equal participation.
How is the workshop going to help in skilling the people with disabilities?
The workshop will have a direct impact on the skilling and job placement of people with disabilities. Gradually, as more inclusive sectors open up to hiring people with disabilities, massive requirement of ethical and qualified sign language interpreters will see a steep rise. Some takeaways from this workshop will be:
What are the job opportunities available for them?
Interpreters act as communication facilitators between deaf and hearing individuals. Interpreters are required in educational institutions, workplaces, training centers, NGOs, hospitals, courts, railway stations and airports, hotels, malls, govt. departments, embassies and numerous other information-transaction centres or services. Simply put, wherever there is a deaf person working, an interpreter is required only for multi-party communications.
With the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 recently being adopted by the government of India, there will be a massive need of skilled interpreters at offices (Govt. and Private), work places like hotels, corporations; assisting accessibility, inclusion and realization of rights of the deaf people.
How will up-skilling help them to be at par with normal employees?
The retreat will focus on skill development of translators in India, who are mostly non-disabled individuals. The interpreters would be a deaf person’s window to the world. So the more the deaf get exposure and can open up, the more are their chances to grow and only an interpreter can be their ears and voice.
2017 had largely been a slow year in terms of recruitment. What skills can help in better recruitment?
The hiring market has not been very good since the past one year. So, the ones who stayed on in any company are the ones with specialised skills that would provide the edge over others. It is applied to the disabled category as well. What we can focus through our classes are courses related to app development, 3D design, entrepreneurship, social media marketing, graphic design, website developer, digital content management and accounting. Subject/Domain specific training, professionalisation and better networking amongst the interpreter organisations are a few of the skills which can help in facilitating better recruitment for interpreters and the deaf community.
Which industries can experience better hiring in 2018?
For the deaf and Hard of Hearing, there is no time for hiring cause there are a plethora of opportunities all around. India currently has a huge potential for them. A lot of companies are eager to hire the disabled in order to be able to create an inclusive culture in their organizations like start-ups, education sector, small business, retail, logistics, hospitality, digital Media, content management, graphic design and app development. Currently there are only 250 qualified interpreters for 18+ million deaf in India. So, hiring is expected to be humongous.
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