SourceAmerica and the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) announce policy recommendations to help narrow the gap in employment for people with disabilities.

The recently released policy statement is titled “ICT Leadership in Inclusive Employment of Persons with Disabilities: An Economic and Social Imperative.” It addresses the social and economic imperatives of employment of persons with disabilities and lay out a roadmap for the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry to grow as leaders in supporting the employment of persons with disabilities, according to a media release from SourceAmerica.

The statement outlines the following policy recommendations:

  • Employment: All industry sectors need to promote policies and practices that improve efforts to include people with disabilities within their workforce.
  • Training: Governments and industry must adopt policies and programs that raise awareness about creating a barrier-free digital environment.
  • Education: Governments and industry must adopt policies and programs that advance the acquisition of ICT-related skills for persons with disabilities of all ages through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning in educational programs for youth, continuing education for adults and apprenticeship models.
  • Improved Data Collection: Worldwide, there must be a greater emphasis on the collection of reliable data to fully understand the prevalence and employment of persons with disabilities.

“At SourceAmerica, we view this as an important and promising first step toward creating an Inclusion Economy – one where people of all abilities have a choice of careers and are celebrated for their unique and valuable contributions to the workforce,” says Steven Krotonsky, chief operating officer for SourceAmerica.

“With these policy recommendations in hand, now is the time to move forward together to bring about real change. This change isn’t just about creating new jobs; it’s about creating meaningful, long-term careers for people with disabilities, and we look forward to continuing our work with WITSA toward this important goal,” Krotonsky continues.

WITSA Secretary General Dr Jim Poisant comments, “Companies that actively hire individuals with disabilities position themselves to engage a diverse talent pool and reach a larger market by developing products and services for a growing segment of the population.

“The ICT industry has an opportunity to take a leadership role in increasing the employment of people with disabilities in the ICT industry, setting an example that could catalyze other sectors to include persons with disabilities, encouraging large-scale economic and societal benefit across the world,” he adds.

[Source(s): SourceAmerica, PRWeb]