Wadhwani Foundation to train physically challenged

Bangalore -  Wadhwani Foundation of the US-based Indian techno entrepreneur Romesh Wadhwani will train about 13,500 educated disabled from across the country in skill  development in partnership with Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (ILFS) Skills Development Corporation (ISDC).

"The joint initiative to train and recruit the physically challenged for job opportunities in state-run enterprises and private firms will commence from September 1 for their social acceptance  and change the mindset towards them," foundation chief executive Ajay Kela said in a statement here Tuesday.

The city-based foundation will grant Rs.10 million to ISDC for imparting skills to the disabled and enable them to secure jobs in the formal sector.

Asserting that the educated disabled are as productive as their normal counterparts and bring special skills to an organisation, Kela said they have tenacity, staying power and can-do  attitude, which makes them better employees.

"The tie-up with ISDC will help us in our initiative to mainstream the educated disabled, by tapping into their pan India network of high quality skills training," Kela observed.

The ISDC will use its franchisees, partners, training providers and corporations to mobilise, train, and mentor educated disabled, leading them towards remunerative jobs.

The foundation had trained about 4,000 educated disabled and placed about 3,000 of them with various firms across verticals.

"The initiative will also help employers to sensitise them for integrating the educated disabled within their organisations," Kela added.

The infrastructure development and finance firm (ISDC) plans to train a whopping 14,000 physically challenged over the next three years.

"We see an opportunity to make a difference to the educated disabled youth with the foundation's initiative. We believe our capabilities and the foundation's commitment to mainstreaming  this section of youth will provide the lead for such livelihood initiatives," ISDC chief operating officer Arun Kumar Pillai said.

The philanthropic foundation's mission is to accelerate the country's economic development through large-scale job creation and skill development.