Persons with disabilities get hands-on training in office automation

Initiative has been taken up by the Bharathidasan University to make them employable

A group of 50 persons with disabilities are undergoing hands-on free training in office automation that has been organised by the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (IECD) of the Bharathidasan University here to make them employable.

The six-day short-term programme is being conducted by the IECD through one of its initiatives under the Social Responsibility Scheme. 

The participants with different types of disabilities including hearing and speech impairment and locomotor disability are being trained by a team of six special trainers of the IECD, which is a skill development centre involved in training people in various sectors from 2006.

The IECD has prepared a training module and daily assignments are given and tests conducted as part of the programme. The computer labs at the IECD have been utilised and participants were being trained on various aspects including creating, editing and formatting documents, text manipulation, creating columns, introduction to Excel features, data entry and powerpoint. The daily training schedule, which concludes on March 19, is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during which lunch is also being provided free of cost to the participants. 

E. Ramganesh, Director, IECD, said that the programme was aimed at improving the self-esteem and confidence of the participants besides making them employable.

The training is being given so that they can get placement in industrial units, Mr. Ramganesh said. Bharathidasan University would provide certificates to the participants after completion of the programme.  Besides Tiruchi, some of the participants are from neighbouring Karur and Perambalur districts.