NEW DELHI: The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, is planning to scale up its skill training programmes for people with disabilities by designing geographically-specific training modules.
“The government plans to impart skill training to 25 lakh people with disabilities till the end of 2022. The department wants to look at geographically specific opportunities which can give long-term sustainable opportunities and empower people with disabilities in order to scale up its programme and achieve the desired target of people to be trained,” said a senior official, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
With the north-east having a potential for agricultural diversity, the department plans to hold skill development programmes for people from the region on the best farming practices. “The idea is to help people in the region get training in high standards of farming practices so that they can benefit in the long term from the project and also help the community members. Similarly, we are sieving through the best options for people with disabilities from across the states to ensure their professional growth,” said the official.
Among the other geographically-specific work opportunities, the department is looking at training opportunities in dairy farming, beekeeping and horticultural practices.
“We are also tying up with IT companies so that people with disabilities are equipped to join the industry in a range of profiles with sound knowledge. The other programmes include small-scale apprenticeships such as training in cottage industry, mobile repairing, tailoring, working as cashiers and shopkeepers. The curriculum needs to be so designed that it helps self-actualisation of the trainees,” said the official.
The department is now planning to come up with national and state-level exhibitions to promote products made by people with disabilities. The department plans to hold competitions in states for people with disabilities. “The plan is still at a nascent stage and the modalities will soon be worked out. We plan to hold these exhibitions in January or early next year,” said the official.
In numbers
There are 2.68 crore people with disability in India, of which 1.50 crore are male and 1.18 crore are female, according to the 2011 Census. There is an urgent need to scale up training to translate quality vocational training into high employability.