Ahmedabad, 17 June, 2014

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Gujarat jointly with the Blind People Association (BPA) is organising a ‘Job Fair’ with a difference on Friday, 20 June 2014, at the BPA, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad. The CII-BPA Job Fair will bring together differently-abled people and industry to a single forum and attempt to bridge the industry with the social sector.

CII has also launched a job portal www.ciispecialability.in specifically for the differently abled which will be a single point portal for employers and differently-abled potential employees.

Mr Piruz Khambatta, Chairman, CII Western Region Sub-Committee on CSR said that as per Census conducted in India in 2001, nearly 2.13% of the country’s population i.e. 2.19 crore people in the country are disabled. A report on Disability by the World Bank estimates disabled population to be ranging between 40 to 80 million i.e. 4 to 8 percent of the total population. “Low literacy, few jobs and widespread social stigma are making disabled people among most excluded in India.”

He said that many organizations that have been able to overcome some of the myths associated with employing PwDs and adopted inclusive policies are reporting positive results in terms of improved productivity, higher employee retention, greater diversity etc. It has been observed worldwide that, employees with disabilities contribute to a business’s diversity and competitive edge by offering fresh perspectives and ideas on how to accomplish tasks and implement strategies. Moreover, research demonstrates that employees with disabilities consistently meet or exceed performance expectations and have a lower than average rate of turnover.

Mr Khambatta shared the CII Code of Conduct which ensures equal opportunities by offering employment for people with disabilities at par with others on the basis of their skills and ability to perform the job.

Employment in the Private Sector has been growing at an increasing rate in the last two decades or so. However, representation of people with disabilities in the workforce of Private Sector is very low.

“The companies will provide access, if not already there and make appropriate adjustments to the workplace and/or employment arrangements in order to enable people with disabilities as required in the fulfillment of their roles”, added Mr. Khambatta.

Organizations Participating in the Job Fair as on 17 June 2014
Sr. No. Organization Participating
1 SHARDA Trust
2 Aegis Ltd
3 Warmstream
4 Future Group
5 Harsha Engineers Ltd.
6 Prot Systems Pvt. Ltd.
7 Arvind Ltd
8 Azure Knowledge Corporation
9 The Pride Hotel
10 VOLTAMP TRANSFORMERS LTD.
11 Tata Motors Limited
12 Novotel Hotel
13 MayFlower Hospital
14 Sanjay Maintenance Services
15 SAFAL HOSPITALITY
16 Brittman Utilities And Services Pvt Ltd
17 Rajasthan Hospital
18 Magus Dialog Ltd
19 Apollo Hospital
20 TCS