The consultancy Advice, in its job monitor for the month of March this year, reported an increase in the technology sector. This sector was the one that contributed the most to the monthly increase in the demand for job offers, with almost 600 calls throughout the month.
The Bensadoun Laurent Foundation, which works to connect companies with available positions with people with disabilities seeking employment, also noted a decrease in demand for more operational positions. Instead, there was an increase in demand for positions with specific training, especially in the area of Information Technology.
IT training as a career opportunity
That is why, as part of the educational proposal, the Foundation, through its training program aimed at people with disabilities, has developed partnerships to promote training in the area of technology.
Among the current proposals, mention is made of the Software Testing Bootcamp conducted by the team of the company Globant during the months of April and May.
This course has reached graduates of Software Testing courses conducted by the Bensadoun Laurent Foundation in previous years. It aims to enable students to develop specific skills in the area to improve their employability.
Also noteworthy is the course on databases that will be given in May by TATA Consultancy Services for people with disabilities registered with the Foundation.
This course will be held in online mode for people with disabilities anywhere in the country, with knowledge in Software Testing or similar technologies.
It is important to emphasize that all the courses have the technical support of the Foundation, understanding the context in which the people who participate in these educational experiences may find themselves.
Generate conditions for access to training
Many people in vulnerable socio-economic contexts, including people with disabilities, do not have the necessary equipment, internet connection or space to develop online training, so mechanisms must be created to avoid further increasing the digital divide.
Accordingto a World Bank report, people with severe disabilities "tend to live in poor or lower-middle-income households, have fewer years of education, and live in subst andard and/or overcrowdedhousing compared to the general population. The exclusion of persons with disabilities affects not only them, but also the other members of the household to which they belong, who often have lower levels of employment and education."
For this reason, in order to take advantage of the demand in the labour market, it is necessary to guarantee access to training and promotion of digital skills for people with disabilities, in accessible environments and with the corresponding professional support.
Technological training could represent an opportunity to change the reality of participation of people from this group in the labour market.
Technological future
According to the labor monitor of the Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology (Cuti) and the consulting firm Advice, based on job calls through digital platforms between May and October 2020, almost a fifth of the calls were centralized only in the technology sector .
The report also highlights that there is a significant demand for staff in the IT sector. The gap for this year 2021 would be around 4,000 people, according to research by the Chamber that takes data from the Ministry of Education and Culture.
A complicated panorama
Training in specific positions with a certain previous educational background can be a challenge for people with disabilities, who, due to different barriers, did not have access to educational training on equal terms, allowing them to compete in the current open labour market.
According to a UNICEF report 2013based on data from the 2011 National Institute of Statistics Household Census., 56.6% of the population with disabilities aged 25 and over reported having no education or having attained only primary education. This percentage drops to 29.7% for the population aged 25 and over who are not disabled.
This situation is already evident in reality. The Foundation, which works with labor inclusion in Montevideo and the metropolitan area with a population of more than 1,000 people with disabilities, reported in its 2020 annual report, a period in which there was a demand for more positions with specific training and fewer operational positions, a decrease of more than 68% in hiring (through the Foundation) compared to the same period of the previous year, before the health emergency.
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