Infotech firms to employ the visually-impaired

MANILA, Philippines - Information and communications technology (ICT) companies are planning to employ persons with disabilities (PWDs), helping fill up positions in an industry that is expected to produce a million jobs by 2010. Organizations such as IBM Philippines, Inc., Resources for Blind, Inc. (RBI) and Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired (Atriev) and the Asia Pacific College are helping visually-impaired individuals to secure employment in the ICT industry. IBM and RBI launched on Monday its 7th training program for the blind nicknamed “Computer Eyes." The week-long training aims to equip 19 blind students from all in high school and college levels in basic computer applications, such as keyboard skills, word processing, and web page creation. More than 150 blind students from all over the country have already been trained under the program since its introduction in 2001, said IBM Philippines country manager and president James Velasquez. In other occasions, the training program has included participants from the elementary level. Velasquez expressed confidence that with the target of one million jobs, some of the visually impaired can soon become part of the ICT industry which has the largest number of people productive and gainfully employed. Randy Weisser, executive director of Resources for the Blind, said finding employment is a “big issue among the blind" in the Philippines. According to the RBI website, there are an estimated half a million Filipinos who are visually-impaired. At the opening ceremonies of the 7th Computer Eyes training, Weisser noted that the massage industry is the number one source of employment for them. But he added that call centers are also good employment opportunities for the blind, particularly because the sense of sight is not a requirement for this kind of job. What are needed are just a computer and a phone, he added. The goal, he added, is “to make ICT one of the sources of employment and the number source of employment. … The pathway to employment is using computers." Weisser added that the blind can find better job opportunities with a college degree. Based on RBI’s experience, those who attended the Computer Eyes training were the ones most likely to go to college. Velasquez said the computer training program is an indication of “how technology has been bridging the gap for the visually impaired and the digital divide in the Philippines." IBM itself has opened its doors to PWDs. Anna Roqueza, IBM Philippines country human resource manager, said IBM is currently employing more than 10 PWDs, including a blind employee working as a call center agent in Daksh, IBM’s call center subsidiary. IBM Philippines also has an annual target of hiring five PWDs. Aside from funding the Computer Eyes training program, IBM is also funding blind scholars in an ICT certificate program in the Asia Pacific College, a joint venture college of IBM Philippines and SM Foundation, Inc. APC currently has among its students two blind students taking up a two-year course in Associate in Computer Technology. Atriev, a computer school for the blind, is helping recruit and screen qualified applicants for the scholarship program. Roqueza said employability is the next step to these ICT initiatives. - Veronica C. Silva, GMANews.TV