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Philanthropy can be profit in disguise for corporates

Saturday, 03 July 2010, 06:59 Hrs

Philanthropy can be profit in disguise for corporates

New Delhi: If, as a corporate, you that think employing a physically challenged person is just philanthropy, think again. It may actually benefit your business if you harness the talent in the right way. The idea of bringing corporates and the physically challenged closer for mutual gain is part of an NGOs initiative aimed at creating over 100,000 jobs for the disabled.

A special training programme aimed at connecting the corporate and the physically challenged was recently launched by the Wadhwani Foundation, a non-profit organisation working towards business innovations.

"The aim is to train over one lakh physically challenged people who have done their Class 12," said Ajay Kela, the Foundation's president and CEO.

Kela, an alumnus of IIT Mumbai, said making employment for the physically challenged profitable for corporates is the only way to get sustainable employment for them.

"There are many jobs which can be done by a 12th grader with proper training," he said.

The idea is to employ them in jobs like tele calling, support, account maintenance and other such works which do not need high expertise and have huge attrition rates at present.

"An average graduate employed for these jobs takes it as a transition job. In industries like the BPO (business process outsourcing), the attrition rate is as high as 50 to 60 percent," he said.

"If the corporates take physically challenged people for such jobs, they will take it as a career and work with more dedication," he said.

"It is targeted job creation which will be of value to both business and society," he said.

The plan has two dimensions, the first bring zeroing in on the corporates who would train and provide jobs and the second selecting the physically challenged people for the training.

"The Foundation will be the facilitator to initiate the process," he said.

"We have consulted some corporates for the purpose and now we will approach various NGOs working in this field for selecting the people," he said.

The Foundation, which also runs entrepreneurship and innovation programmes, believes that economic empowerment is the key to solving social problems.

"Once a class is economically empowered, the problems at the bottom of the pyramid disappear," he added.
Source: IANS

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