Hiring people with disabilities is possible and brings value to companies – both from a social and economic point of view. Universidade Nova de Lisboa intends to demonstrate this by creating a platform to promote inclusive employability.
The platform is digital and has been available since January 1st. It was designed for “connect candidates with disabilities to the job market, through inclusive recruitment partners”.
The project is promoted by Nova SBEthrough the Inclusive Community Forum (ICF), whose objective is to promote a more inclusive society.
Speaking to the Lusa agency, the ICF project manager said that inclusive recruitment partners are organizations that support both people with disabilities and companies that want to recruit workers.
Second Frederico Oliveira Pintothe platform already has the support of 18 partners, including recruitment and selection companies with “teams or people dedicated to inclusive recruitment”, but also “companies specialized in the inclusion of people with disabilities in the job market” or “social organizations dedicated to the lives of people with disabilities”.
“These partners provide support, on the one hand, to people with disabilities, in their preparation to enter the job market, in the search for job opportunities, in integration into the company and in monitoring the employee throughout their journey in the company”, explained the person in charge.
Supporting people with disabilities and… employers
On the other hand, support potential employers“by raising awareness among companies on the topic, searching for talent for the vacancies they have open, preparing and raising awareness of teams that will receive employees with disabilities, possible post-work adaptations that may be necessary and then also monitoring companies throughout the journey of that employee with disabilities”.
Frederico Oliveira Pinto explained that at ICF they have been working “for a long time” with companies that want to recruit people with disabilities, currently 83and who realized at the beginning that “there was a great lack of knowledge about the value that people with disabilities can eventually bring to companies and the job market”.
“The market has been evolving a lot in recent years and (…) there are more companies showing that it is not only possible but also positive and brings value to companies [contratar pessoas com deficiência]not only from a social point of view but also from an economic point of view”, highlighted the person in charge.
The operation of the platform is accompanied by a national publicity campaign, which also started at the beginning of January, and which aims to reach all people with disabilities who are looking for work, but with a special focus on those “who are not yet in the job market circuit”.
Frederico Oliveira Pinto also said that the campaign will be available for six months, until June, also to “awaken Portuguese companies to the topic of recruiting people with disabilities, promoting greater knowledge on the topic and contact with partners”, which are “the gateway to inclusive recruitment”.
