A year ago BVAPD and Engen SA embarked on a partnership with a pilot project, “WeMove”, that is hoped will become an industry norm. It sounded very ambitious at the time and with no written guidelines, BVAPD created our own, and in partnership with MoreThan/MeerAs training we prepared people with disabilities for the open labour market.
In September last year we identified 20 candidates who underwent training and attended various theory, creative and life skills training workshops. We carefully evaluated each candidate to ascertain their talents, skills, interests and what they were capable of. Our goal was to place 10 of the most well-suited beneficiaries in off-site jobs, while the remaining beneficiaries would continue to fulfil on-site positions and put their new skills to work.
We were very excited about securing off-site positions for 13 of our beneficiaries at various organisations in Worcester.
We could see the training was working and the feedback from all the employers has been incredibly positive.
Many referred to their new employees as assets and blessed additions. Their perceptions of employing disabled people had immediately been changed. As a result of our investment with training and support to these beneficiaries we have been able to change the mindset of just a few. This makes one wonder: Why the word ‘disabled’ is such a barrier to prospective employers?
Should the loss of a limb, stroke, epilepsy, being in a wheelchair, using a walker or having a smaller intellectual capacity be such an enormous barrier to allowing people access to a living wage? We are happy to be the vessel in teaching business owners how to evaluate people better, but why are they not given this consideration outright when they apply for a position!
When one takes into consideration people with disabilities are just less abled than the average person yet have the same financial responsibilities, no different than people without disabilities, how is it that employers treats them differently with an application?
Through programmes such as these and with the happy participation of business owners in our beautiful valley we will be able to lift the preconceptions associated with applications received by people with disabilities. The 13 that have been placed in the open labour market have boosted the confidence of the beneficiaries still left by us. They now see for themselves that they are more than capable of working in the open marketplace and this has turned from discouragement into eagerness to enrol for the next group that will start in September 2023.
