Sarthak Educational Trust and Credit Suisse empower People with Disabilities in Maharashtra

·         1,050 young people with disabilities (PwDs) trained over three years, with more than 70% securing job placements

 by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai,May 2021: As part of a three-year collaboration, Credit Suisse, one of the world’s leading financial services providers, together with Sarthak Educational Trust, have trained 1,050 People with Disabilities (PwDs), 70% of whom have secured job placements with various companies.

In 2018, Sarthak Educational Trust and Credit Suisse initiated a three-year program to establish a skill development center in Thane, Maharashtra that provides training and skill development to PwDs, enabling them to find relevant career opportunities.

Sarthak Educational Trust is focused on changing the lives of PwDs across India. With a vision to empower these individuals to be independent and self-sufficient, Sarthak Educational Trust is on a mission to establish Sarthak Adarsh Kendras, to build skills and provide PwDs and their families with access to early intervention centers that deliver services ranging from early detection of disabilities, treatment and rehabilitation, as well as training and career placement.

Dr. Jitender Aggrawal, Founder of Sarthak Educational Trust, said, “We are pleased to see the outstanding results coming out of the collaborated efforts with Credit Suisse on setting up our first skill development center in Thane. Through this collaboration, we are able to provide much needed life and job skills to PwDs to help them succeed in the real world. We believe that ‘change is the end result of all true learning’.”

He further adds, “Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarthak went a step ahead to scale its activities in the virtual space, and got more members on board. Within a week after the lockdown was announced, Sarthak started online vocational training programmes for its members. Since then, about 3000 people with disabilities across India have been trained successfully through the online vocational training and counselling sessions, out of which 2,000 people have landed a job. Thus, the pandemic provided an opportunity for Sarthak to scale its reach"

Ashish Gupta, Chair of the India Philanthropy Committee, Credit Suisse, added, “At Credit Suisse, we are committed to building an inclusive culture. We are pleased to have the opportunity, working closely with Sarthak Educational Trust, to support individuals in need to lead a life of dignity and respect, by honing their skills and facilitating independence.”

The skill development centers aim to support PwDs with mobilization, conduct baseline assessment and registration, provide training and skill development, organize training-related activities, offer job placements at various corporates, and arrange for post placement follow-up. Activities such as guest lectures, field trips to companies and workshops for parents are also offered.

Sarthak Educational Trust has successfully placed PwDs in roles within companies across a range of sectors including e-commerce, technology, consumer/retail and hospitality, thereby providing them with meaningful livelihoods.

With its 22 centers across India (i.e. New Delhi (4), Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Ambala, Bhopal, Jaipur, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Vishakhapatnam, Chennai, Thane, Varanasi, Thiruvananthapuram, Virar), Sarthak Educational Trust is actively engaged in creating productive citizens through a life cycle approach that spans Early Intervention, Inclusive Education, Skill Development, Employment Generation and Advocacy programs (www.sarthakindia.org). Its sister organization, National Abilympic Association of India, focuses on ensuring excellence in vocational skills by organizing regional and national level Abilympics in India and representing India in the International Abilympics taking place every four years since 2001 (www.abilympicsindia.org).