NOWPDP, via Program Dastoor, is facilitating vocational training for adults with disabilities in certified market-relevant skills at mainstream vocational training centers in Pakistan. The funds provided will support training of 100 adults with disabilities in 2017, covering their tuition and examination fees as well as the costs of making reasonable accessibility accommodations at the vocational training centers. Additionally employability and entrepreneurship workshops will also be provided
In Pakistan, a vast majority of persons with disabilities are at a disadvantage in the educational arena, where they are unable to attain quality education or acquire vocational training required to prepare them for the professional world. This, coupled with lack of accessible infrastructure and unwelcoming attitudes, limits access to opportunities for their economic empowerment.
NOWPDP partners with mainstream vocational training centers to provide certified training to adults with disabilities in technical, computer-based and other skills with an average duration of 6-months. Reasonable accommodations are made and staff sensitized to ensure an inclusive training environment. Entrepreneurial and employability workshops with mentors are also conducted so that not only are the trainees equipped with a market-relevant skill but are also provided guidance for their careers.
Equipping adults with disabilities with skills that are certified and in demand by the market along with adequate career guidance and knowledge of using skill relevant technology, would enable them to access and also create opportunities for themselves, thus leading to their socio-economic inclusion.
