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The Job Fair for People with Disabilities seeks to open doors to the private sector. Mahangu Weerasinghe reports
Giving them a fair chance
Rows and rows of anxious faces. Files overflowing with curriculum vitae and certificates of merit. Dozens of interview booths filled with human resource managers from Sri Lanka's top private sector companies. Only around thirty percent of the 110 people in the room will be getting jobs. Competition is stiff, and each applicant knows it.

Twenty-seven-year-old Camilo Fernando is a resident of Kotahena. A polio patient, Camilo would usually not be considered for many of today's private sector openings. However, with his extensive range of IT and computer graphics related qualifications, he is an excellent investment for any company. "I have a diploma in computer science and a higher diploma in computer engineering, including hardware engineering," says Camilo. At the Job Fair for People with Disabilities, people like Camilo are given a fair chance to apply for jobs that they can do well, in spite of their disabilities.

"Employees with disabilities are usually a lot more eager and hardworking than most other staff," says Mr. Sri Kumar, Director of Watawala Plantations. "For example, if a member packs 400 packets of tea in a certain period of time, a disabled employee usually packs the same in close to half the time." The company took on three employees from last year's fair, and this year they're hoping to hire more. "In fact," said the Director, "some of our existing staff members felt threatened by the intense productivity of the disabled employees."

The fair, which is jointly organized by the Employers Federation of Sri Lanka and the Motivation Charitable Trust has one clear difference - potential employees are not given special concessions because of their disabilities. In other words, the interviewers treat the applicants the same as they would treat any able-bodied contender. "Employees are hired purely on their performance and qualifications, and on the job are treated the same as other employees," said one participating HR Manager. "This sense of equality is important to any human being."

Applicants from all over the country came to the job fair to compete for a number of positions including manual jobs and in the fields of information technology, metal work, electrical training, clerical, artistic skills, carpentry and motor mechanics.

Another HR manager told The Sunday Times that the corporate sector needed to look at making the industry accessible from the grass root level. "It is not enough to suddenly wake up and realize that making room for people with disabilities is the ‘in’ thing to do.Accessibility needs to be thought of during the planning stages, and factories, when being planned and built, need to be made accessible. I have an applicant today whom I would love to employ based on his excellent skills - but I can't because he wouldn't be able to get around the factory."

Minister of Women's Employment and Social Welfare, Sumedha G. Jayasena spoke to The Sunday Times about the steps that the Ministry was taking on the issue of employment for people with disabilities. "We are currently working on legislation which will make it mandatory for every organization to employ a certain percentage of people with disabilities," said the Minister. "Currently at the Ministry there are several employees with disabilities, and we hope that other Ministries too will soon follow in our footsteps," said Mrs. Jayasena.

Kithsiri Dandeenu was another applicant at the fair. The 32-year-old had to have his foot amputated during his A/Ls due to a tumour. However, Kithsiri still managed to make the grade for University and obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. Apart from this qualification, Kithsiri also obtained a computer certificate from Rehab Lanka. Although Kithsiri currently works for an N.G.O in Negombo, he hopes that his degree, along with his sound computer knowledge, will earn him a job in a private sector firm.

Meghamali Aluwihare, Senior Industrial Relations Advisor of the Employers Federation says their federation works closely with the International Labour Organization to ensure decent work for everyone. "This fair was born out of a study done by the ILO," said Mrs. Aluwihare. "Based on the study of a UK job fair for people with disabilities, we worked on the layout for last year's inaugural job fair. This year, the fair has expanded in many ways, with 34 member companies participating.”We hope to expand on this number next year,” she added.

Sharmini Constantinescu, Manager - Employment Placement for the Motivation Trust said they hoped that 20 to 30 percent of those present would be employed by the end of the fair. Motivation plans to conduct similar job fairs outstation, in areas such as Jaffna, Tangalle, Galle and Kandy. "That way, the people of those areas will be able to find jobs closer to home for them," said Ms. Constantinescu.

A.D Kalpage, a hearing-impaired applicant, spoke to The Sunday Times with the aid of a sign language interpreter. "I have a lot of experience in the printing industry," said the 25-year-old, who showed The Sunday Times certificates from some of Sri Lanka's premier graphic design institutes. "This is my first job fair, and I hope my skills will get me a good job," said Kalpage. Although many of Sri Lanka's corporate firms were present at the fair, a much larger percentage were absent. Of the Federation's 457 members, only 34 took part in the job fair.

Even in an age where "social awareness" has become an industry buzzword, it is sad that some companies do not see the benefits of employing some of these intensely productive people. It is time that every CEO, every Chairman, every Human Resource Manager sat down with one of these gifted people and had a chat. It just may change the way they look at productivity. It may just change the company, and maybe even the country.

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