{"id":241991,"date":"2022-11-04T04:09:05","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T02:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=124100"},"modified":"2022-11-04T04:09:05","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T02:09:05","slug":"learnerships-are-key-to-developing-people-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/learnerships-are-key-to-developing-people-with-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Learnerships are key to developing People with Disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1 \">\n<aside id=\"republication_tracker_tool-2\" class=\"republication_tracker_tool clearfix\">\n<h5 class=\"adtitle\">Republish for Free<\/h5>\n<div class=\"license\">\n<p><button name=\"Republish This Story\" id=\"cc-btn\" class=\"republication-tracker-tool-button\">Republish This Story<\/button><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"license\" rel=\"noreferrer license noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/learnerships-are-key-to-developing-people-with-disabilities.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/learnerships-are-key-to-developing-people-with-disabilities.png\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"message\">\n<p>Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<figure id=\"attachment_124101\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-124101\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?attachment_id=124101\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"159\" class=\"wp-image-124101 size-thumbnail lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/learnerships-are-key-to-developing-people-with-disabilities.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-124101 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/learnerships-are-key-to-developing-people-with-disabilities.jpg\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"159\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-124101\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sean Sharp, Executive Head of Sales at EduPower Skills Academy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Learnerships for People with Disabilities should go beyond B-BBEE points<\/p>\n<p>November is Disability Awareness Month, the perfect time to shine the spotlight on the fact that while 7.5% of the South African population live with disabilities, only 1% of these individuals have jobs. However, South Africa is not unique in this. Worldwide, People with Disabilities (PWDs) are underrepresented in the workforce based on low expectations and preconceived notions about their capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>According to Sean Sharp, Executive Head of Sales at EduPower Skills Academy, this assumption couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. \u201cWe are doing ourselves and these individuals a massive disservice, not to mention robbing them of their dignity. It\u2019s about time that we stop looking at people\u2019s disabilities and start focusing on their abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He believes the value that PWDs can bring to any organisation goes far beyond a B-BBEE scorecard, but they seldom have the opportunity to prove their potential due to the perceived problems and\/or costs associated with hiring People with Disabilities. This is also partly due to the schooling system in South Africa as matriculants are generally far from work ready when they finish school \u2013 a fact that applies equally to both able-bodied and PWDs.<\/p>\n<p>Sean says the best way to bridge the massive gap that exists for PWDs between school and work is by empowering them through learnerships. He has first-hand experience of the impact learnerships can have on PWDs as 90% of the learners at EduPower are people with disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLearnership programmes provide PWDs with an accredited qualification and invaluable work experience in a specific occupation. These new skills and the resultant confidence boost they provide, coupled with a range of other soft skills, significantly improve their employability, allowing them to build careers and make a positive contribution at work and to society,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n<p>More learnerships for PWDs<\/p>\n<p>While there are no figures to back it up, Sean adds that it would appear that more companies are sponsoring learnerships for PWDs. However, the reasons for this are not always in accordance with the intended outcome of creating employment opportunities. \u201cMany organisations sponsor PWD learnerships for the wrong reasons \u2013 by making the spend, they are able to earn the four points available for PWD learnerships under Skills Development for their B-BBEE scorecards. Yes, this is an investment that provides skills and develops PWDs, but companies would be far better served seeing learnerships as talent pools for full-time employment that can make a positive impact on their businesses and achieve meaningful change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Driving Transformation<\/p>\n<p>Companies actively providing full-time employment for their PWD learners upon completion of their learnerships will help drive south Africa\u2019s transformation agenda. Besides unlocking five bonus points on their B-BBEE scorecard for absorption into their organisation\u2019s workforce, far more important is that it will provide opportunities for these individuals to reach their full potential. PWDs are not looking for handouts or pity, they are looking for meaningful work that will allow them to showcase their skills and abilities in the same way as able-bodied individuals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHiring your learners is a win-win for all stakeholders. Guaranteed, your PWD learners have had massive obstacles to overcome in their lives, which has given them a completely different perspective on dealing with problems,\u201d says Sean. \u201cIn any business, this introduces innovative thinking that can help businesses be more creative and solutions-driven.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Diversity through equal opportunities<\/p>\n<p>Sean believes that when you focus on what a PWD learner can do for the company, you will find that the benefits of a diverse workforce vastly outweigh any costs. There may be some reasonable accommodation that is required but being mindful of this and planning from the start will help companies avoid incurring too much extra spend. Including PWDs and accommodating their disability-related needs are important moves for companies with regard to talent resourcing and compliance with legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Inclusion and diversity in the workplace are everyone\u2019s responsibility! Companies need to be committed to providing the correct development for PWDs to eliminate the associated stigma and to ensure they are given equal opportunities. Only then will effective change be possible and will People with Disabilities truly be recognised for the enormous value they can add.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mypr.co.za\/contact\/featured\/\">CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"post-views-icon dashicons dashicons-chart-bar\"><\/span> <span class=\"post-views-label\">Press Release Views since 1 July 2022:<\/span> <span class=\"post-views-count\">70<\/span> <\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-pagination pagination\">Pages: <span class=\"post-page-numbers current\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>1<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/learnerships-are-key-to-developing-people-with-disabilities\/2\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>2<\/a><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\">Source: MyPR.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republish for Free Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Sean Sharp, Executive Head of Sales at EduPower Skills Academy Learnerships for People with Disabilities should go beyond B-BBEE points November is Disability Awareness Month, the perfect time to shine the spotlight on the fact [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":241992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9021,1],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-241991","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mypr","8":"category-south-africa","9":"tag-mypr","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/learnerships-are-key-to-developing-people-with-disabilities.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}