Johannesburg - Diversity and inclusion in all aspects of society have been highlighted in recent years with increased efforts being made to improve the lives of those living with disabilities.
This includes in the workplace, as pivotal shifts in attitudes and behaviour toward social injustices are needed in businesses.
EduPower Skills Academy, an accredited training provider, said that there are three million people in South Africa who are living with disabilities, which equates to 7.5% of the population.
The organisation’s executive head of sales, Sean Sharp, said that despite these statistics, only 1% of the country’s total workforce are people with disabilities.
This is worse than the global average that estimates around 90% of people with disabilities are either unemployed or outside the workforce.
“It’s a fact that worldwide, people with disabilities have a far less chance of being employed with similar trends observed in job advancement and security,” Sharp said.
As EduPower has vast experience in empowering people with disabilities, Sharp shares his top recommendations that leaders can take to improve the situation in their own businesses:
1. Be open to potential employees
Sharp said that a business’s recruiting and hiring processes need to encourage applicants with disabilities and give them the opportunity to demonstrate their strengths. “This starts by understanding the barriers that discourage them from applying for the positions you are advertising; from the application format, online accessibility and even the language used in job descriptions,” Sharp said. He added that an open mindset will give a company an advantage when it comes to acquiring and leveraging the talent needed.
2. Accessible workplaces
To retain employees, Sharp believes that accessibility and inclusivity must extend beyond the recruitment process. “People with disabilities need to feel included in and comfortable with their physical working space and office design needs to take this into account. But it doesn’t have to cost a fortune.” He said that flexible work schedules, health promotion programmes tailor-made for those with disabilities, assistive technologies such as text-to-speech, the concept of “reasonable accommodation” (which comes with tax rebates) exists to allow for modifications that enable employees with a disability to compete on a level playing field.
3. It starts with your people
“Disability inclusion will only be successful when you have an inclusive workplace when people with disabilities feel welcome and comfortable, where they are valued and appreciated for what they bring to the table,” Sharp said. He said that in order to create this environment, businesses need to remove any attitudinal barriers that may exist for their employees. “Perceptions are easy to correct through disability training, creating a harmonious work environment that will make a world of difference for everyone.”
4. Skills Development is the difference
Sharp believes that one of the main reasons that people with disabilities do not have equal opportunities is the severe lack of skills investment when they are young. “Skills development is therefore the single most important instrument to empower people with disabilities, improve their employability, lift them out of poverty and set them on a path to be economically active.” He said that including learnerships for people with disabilities in a business’s skills development not only impacts the life of a deserving individual, a company will benefit from building a representative talent pool, gain invaluable points for your B-BBEE scorecard and will be able to share the cost of the training through the available tax incentives and rebates.