“Stereotype that a person with a disability is a burden for an employer should be broken”
For some employers hiring a person with a disability is perceived as a burden, Armen Alaverdyan, Chairman of “Unison” NGO, told “A1+”. But Mr Alaverdyan highlights, “According to the statistics, the brain drain among the employees with disabilities is less than among people without disabilities.” Mr Alaverdyan listed the stereotypes, by which the employers are guided: “The most inaccurate stereotype is that a person with a disability can do only limited types of work. It isn’t true. For example, “Unison” studio has brilliant specialists, who can restore any type of old photograph. Besides, next stereotype is that on hearing “a person with disability”, employers imagine a person using a wheelchair. But a disability can be of different types: a person may have a problem with internal organs, which doesn’t hinder his movement. There is also another stereotype that a person with a mental disorder is completely ineligible. There are many success stories that those people become professors. In some cases a person with a mental disorder can do mechanical work better that a person without a mental disorder. That person is more concentrated on his task and clearly does his work. Another and maybe the most important stereotype should be broken that hiring a person with disability is a burden. It is not a burden, in some cases it is even beneficial, as after investment of quota, according to some programs state provides money to the employer. It is done for improving the building facilities.” Since 2006 “Unison” NGO has non-officially established an employment center. As of now, more than 600 people have been registered in their database. Last year more than 100 people with disabilities were employed. Mr Alaverdyan remembers numerous cases when people with disabilities, being professionals in IT sector, lawyers etc, were employed and successfully continue their work. If it is somehow impossible to adapt the building facilities, the head of an organization dealing with issues of the people with disabilities urges employers to hire people, who are blind or deaf. This program is maintained within the framework of Media for Informed Civic Engagement project that is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
