ABLE, AIF’s flagship livelihood program, helps create an ecosystem for the inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) as an active workforce in the job market, thus promoting inclusive growth in India.
There are 26.8 million Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in India. 36% of the PwDs are employable but they, especially women, face enormous physical, attitudinal, and informational barriers to equal opportunities at work. They experience higher rates of unemployment, economic inactivity, and insufficient social protection which is key to reducing extreme poverty.
The ABLE program aims to create pathways that:
Working to empower India’s differently-abled, ABLE builds skill sets and facilitates access to employment, while also promoting acceptance of disabilities in the larger community.
ABLE also helps advance the discourse on disability inclusion by bringing together the key stakeholders-- Governments, National Institutes for Empowerment of PwDs, NGOs, and the private sector—and informing, influencing, and engaging with them.
Built on an ambitious goal of doubling the number of PwDs in India’s formal sector by 2030, ABLE aims to strategically enable the ecosystem to:
Facilitation through India’s first accessible e-marketplace dedicated to jobs for PwDs – Onboard at least 1,000 corporates/PSUs from the government and private sectors (including MNCs) to the platform to make jobs accessible for PwDs.
Alliance in action - Proactively organize seminars and workshops to sensitize employers on the abilities of PwDs and make workplaces accessible as well as demonstrate the business case of employing a person with a disability.
Technology for accessibility and skilling – Leveraging technology to develop a Learning and Management System (LMS) with digitally accessible content compliant with ‘Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)’ to create a platform that allows PwDs to actively participate in the training process thereby having a positive impact on their learning outcomes.
Employment that’s sustainable with a strong focus on placement retention – ABLE aims to enable employment of 100,000 PwDs over the next 10 years by providing the skills set required to them eligible for dignified employment; making employment accessible to match their newly gained skills; and providing continued support along with upskilling to help them flourish in their employment journey.
Engage to Empower is a long-term career support intervention focused on upgrading, upskilling, and facilitating dignified job opportunities that aim to rebuild the lives of women, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), and youth from marginalized communities, disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Through the intervention, AIF’s Market Aligned Skills Training (MAST) Program in partnership with Bank of America, is facilitating co-learning and knowledge sharing for focused self-development and career planning with post-placement support for 3.5 years. Designed to deliver volunteer training and mentoring by the Bank of America employees in Full Stack Development, Data Analytics, Banking, Financial Services, Insurance (BFSI), and other upcoming sectors, it aims to nurture professional development, workplace readiness, and cultural transition for the identified vulnerable groups.
In 2023, First American (India) Private Limited (FAI) partnered with AIFT to provide training for at least 85 youth with disabilities in Tamil Nadu, focusing on skills that promote self-employment and entrepreneurship for specially-abled individuals.
The Ford Foundation is supporting AIFT in creating career pathways for 100,000 persons with disabilities (PwDs) over a five-year period beginning in 2022. In the initial phase, the program aims to establish career opportunities for 25,000 individuals.
American India Foundation in Partnership with Dell Technologies is implementing a Future Workspace Skills project that aims to build workforce readiness in college-going girls and persons with disabilities. The Project, designed to catalyze a technology-enabled, inclusive, and adaptive skilling ecosystem, aims to sustain remote job creation, linking the targeted beneficiaries with aspirational jobs in technology, banking, and travel; facilitating their transition, and acclimatizing them to the newly acquired remote jobs through the innovative Remote Employment (REMO) Centers. The training curriculum, certified by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and DELL Tech., offers an exclusive curriculum created by subject experts and industry mentors on subjects such as communication skills, life skills, corporate grooming and etiquette, MS Office, workplace readiness, resume writing, and interview preparedness through a cutting-edge technology enabled Learning Management System (LMS).
AIF in partnership with Extreme Networks is building capacities of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) to access dignified livelihoods and employment/self-employment opportunities across Chennai, Kancheepuram (Chennai), Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and Bengaluru (Karnataka). As part of this vision, the collaboration aims to create infrastructure for classrooms and practical lab setups for upcoming (PwDs) and youth.
Aimed at creating an independent cadre of trained caregivers, the Geriatric Care Aide project supported by Franklin Templeton is meeting the growing demands of the country’s healthcare system to bridge the gap between caregivers and the elderly population. Aimed at creating an independent cadre of trained caregivers, the Geriatric Care Aide project supported by Franklin Templeton has so far trained more than 240 youths from marginalized communities, providing them access to sustainable livelihoods. The project was also awarded the Gold Award for its outstanding performance in the Health Skilling Brand Category at the IHW awards 2020. Geriatric Care Aide is being implemented by AIF under its flagship Market Aligned Skills Training (MAST) Program that works to provide unemployed youth with comprehensive skills training to address India’s growing need for skilled manpower.
While the overall objective of the program is to create a career pathway for 100,000 PwDs Pan India, over the ten years, the program is gradually achieving the scale, we will be creating career pathways for 8,000 persons in 3 years starting Dec 2021. To achieve this milestone, several small milestones will be set up to keep a check on project progress in the right direction. The E-marketplace will be made functional to bring job seekers and givers to a single platform. A minimum of 500 organizations which would include PSUs / corporates will be onboard to share relevant job openings. Organizations will be invited to bring awareness to PwDs' job policies by the government.
Project SAMEIP is a collaborative initiative of the SBI Foundation and Microsoft India to enable career pathways for underserved young Persons with Disabilities in the digitally transformed Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector in India. SAMEIP, is steered by AIF’s Livelihoods Program, along with TeamLease Skills University, v-shesh, and WinVinaya Foundation across Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Through this initiative, the project would address the stigma associated with hiring people with disabilities and sensitize employers to leverage the talent of these individuals to become productive assets of society and trailblazers in their respective communities.
In 2024, AIFT partnered with SCGBSPL to boost the inclusion of persons with disabilities (PwDs) in India's formal labor market. The initiative focuses on integrating PwDs into mainstream services by offering skills training, job fairs, and employment drives, along with ongoing support for job retention through continuous learning and mentoring for 2,424 PwDs
Project SAMEIP is a collaborative initiative of the SBI Foundation and Microsoft India to enable career pathways for underserved young Persons with Disabilities in the digitally transformed Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector in India. SAMEIP, is steered by AIF’s Livelihoods Program, along with TeamLease Skills University, v-shesh, and WinVinaya Foundation across Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Through this initiative, the project would address the stigma associated with hiring people with disabilities and sensitize employers to leverage the talent of these individuals to become productive assets of society and trailblazers in their respective communities.
Project SAMEIP is a collaborative initiative of the SBI Foundation and Microsoft India to enable career pathways for underserved young Persons with Disabilities in the digitally transformed Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector in India. SAMEIP, is steered by AIF’s Livelihoods Program, along with TeamLease Skills University, v-shesh, and WinVinaya Foundation across Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.
Project SAMEIP is a collaborative initiative of the SBI Foundation and Microsoft India to enable career pathways for underserved young Persons with Disabilities in the digitally transformed Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector in India. SAMEIP, is steered by AIF’s Livelihoods Program, along with TeamLease Skills University, v-shesh, and WinVinaya Foundation across Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.
Project SAMEIP is a collaborative initiative of the SBI Foundation and Microsoft India to enable career pathways for underserved young Persons with Disabilities in the digitally transformed Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector in India. SAMEIP, is steered by AIF’s Livelihoods Program, along with TeamLease Skills University, v-shesh, and WinVinaya Foundation across Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.
Including persons with disabilities in the workforce is essential for creating inclusive workplaces. However, this section faces challenges, underscoring the necessity to destigmatise disability in the workplace.
The daughter of a daily wage worker, 29-year-old Shabana Khan was born without upper limbs. Hailing from Haryana, her family consists of seven members with her father as a sole bread earner. Shabana, being the eldest of her siblings, always wanted to support her family but faced disappointments owing to her condition.
OFor years, there have been countless instances of discriminatory behaviour toward individuals with disabilities in the professional environment. A survey conducted by Equality Human Rights in the year 2022 revealed that at least 18 percent of respondents reported facing some form of unjust treatment, discrimination, bullying, or harassment in their workplace.
New Delhi, India: American India Foundation, catalyzing social and economic change in India for the past 23 years, co-sponsored the ‘Purple Fest’ at the official residence of the President of India – Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The illustrious event was organized by the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. Over 10,000 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and dozens of civil society organizations championed awareness of disability and celebrated inclusivity in the presence of the Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu, along with Hon’ble Ministers of DEPwD.
A 2010 study conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) indicated that the economic cost of excluding individuals with disabilities ranges from 3 to 7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in middle and lower-income countries.
Persons with disability have impairments while ‘disability’ is what the ecosystem enforces! Let that sink in. Refusing the ramp, denying the accessible toilets, insisting that you apply for a job online while the technology is not adaptive to your disability, disallowing the use of a different keyboard, and a general assumption that these adaptations are not worth the bother.
DI-verse initiative by ABLE program was honored with the prestigious SABRE Award South Asia 2024 for its innovative efforts to advance disability inclusion, promote accessible and inclusive workplaces, and create equitable employment opportunities for persons with disabilities (PwDs). The initiative was recognized for driving awareness and fostering greater workforce participation and inclusion across corporate India.
DI-verse, an initiative of the ABLE program, received the PRmoment India Health Communications Award 2024 in recognition of its innovative communications campaign advancing disability inclusion, accessibility, and workplace inclusion for persons with disabilities (PwDs). The initiative was recognized for raising awareness, fostering inclusive practices, and creating equitable opportunities for persons with disabilities across corporate India.
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DI-verse: The Disability Inclusive Universe!
Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu and Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, IAS, Secretary, DEPwD, MSJE, with Nishant Pandey, CEO, AIF, at Purple Fest 2024, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi
