Best Practices for training Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)

Laharee 

I was talking to a prospective recruiter recently and she mentioned that all the PWD New hires will have to undergo a Training Program for a period of three months before being opted for an FTE role. The concept of training before employment seems very logical and also mandatory to ensure both the candidate and the company are the right fit for each other.  

But my next question was, “Do you have a Training Program ready?” and she replied, “What is there to keep ready? All our new recruits have to undergo the same training, irrespective of PWD or Non-PWD.” This came as a surprise for me, because it is very very important for a corporate to create a Training Plan just similar to the Recruitment Plan they create for the Hiring Process.  

It is critical that the Regular Training Life cycle is tweaked a little to match the needs of the PWD Hires, otherwise it will not give back effective returns. Let me explain: 

In case a batch of Non-PWD Graduates are hired, on a very high level, there are three stages: On-boarding, Job specific Training, Assessment, then conversion to FTE based on Performance.  

But this plan is not going to be effective for PWD Graduate hires. There are many more steps involved in the Training Life cycle to ensure maximum retention and optimum return of investment.  

Students who are PWDs have faced numerous obstacles and reached the place where they are. I recently got to know that according to a TRRAIN Report, less than 6% of the PWD Population are graduates. That is a very meagre number. Majority of this population comes from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and even if they are proficient/ well versed in the technical knowledge required for the job, have very poor/ below average communication skills; poor confidence, & are weak in many important soft skills that are required to be job-ready.  

This is a major setback for them in comparison to students from mainstream colleges/ towns and cities. In order to bridge this skill-gap, it is important for the corporates to include holistic training program which comprises of courses not merely in the job specific skills, but Communicative English, Important Soft skills like – Confidence building, creative thinking, problem solving, Ethical decision making and more.  

While we prepare for a revised Training life cycle, we also have to understand that there are some steps that are to be implemented in the pre-training period, some in training execution period and some others in the post-training feedback period.  

As the popular saying goes, “Everything can be achieved through gradual steps – one small step at a time: overcoming fears, fulfilling dreams… anything you wish to be different from the way it is.” 

Give the PWD Hires, a little extra time to shine, walk with them an extra mile and we promise you that this extra mile will bring you huge successes and optimum results.  

Are you interested not only to recruit PWDs but to ensure you get maximum results out of the hiring? Then read our Best Practices for Corporates in Training PWDs deck and reach out to us. 

Let us step together and make this world a little more inclusive.