Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Where can I find information about employment for people with disabilities?
The following organisations specialise in employment for people with disabilities:
- Abacus Recruitment
Abacus Recruitment is an existing recruitment company that has been delivering outstanding service in the industry for ten years. In the beginning of 2007, Abacus Recruitment started a new division that specialises in the recruitment of people with disabilities. This division focuses on all industries and proficiency types and is not only limited to IT personnel. - Bradshaw LeRoux Disabled Placements
A National Recruitment Agency specialising in placing people with a disability. With our mandate : competence first, disability second, we offer a professional approach to facilitating mutually beneficial employment relationships. - Brite Byte (Pty) Ltd
Brite Byte specialises in the recruitment and placement of People with Disabilities (PWDs). This is a focused area requiring multiple expertise in the areas of Human Resources, recruitment and placement legislation and best practice, all areas of disabilities, job spec requirements, training and development etc. - Enabler
Enabler is a website to assist people with disabilities to find employment, as well as enabling potential employers to find people with disabilities looking for a job.
For more information visit the National Accessibility Portal Employment page
We would like to purchase assistive devices and assistive software. Could you please forward me contact details for manufacturers and/or dealers.
One of the main aims of the National Accessibility Portal is to provide information to all relevant communities. This information includes commercial products and vendors. The portal itself will provide mechanisms for vendors to update and advertise their products. The first delivery on the project was a prototype demonstrator. This was developed to demonstrate concepts and show the potential impact of the project. The prototype is not available as a live system. The project timeline with the associated deliverables can be viewed on this web site.
Some vendor information:
Celeste Mukheibir:
E-mail inclusive@telkomsa.net
The Independent Living Centre (ILC):
Tel: 011 482 5474/5/6
Postal Address:
PO BOX 248
Auckland Park
2006
For more vendor information visit the National Accessibility Portal's assistive devices page.
What are the challenges that your project faces?
Up to 12% or approximately 4 million South Africans are moderately to severely disabled. Many more are affected by temporary disabilities caused by accidents or illnesses. Because in the past the emphasis was on the medical needs of people with disabilities, there was a corresponding neglect of their wider social needs. This has resulted in severe isolation, reduced quality of life and economic and social marginalisation of people with disabilities and their families. Many people with disabilities suffer abject poverty and do not have access to information and services that could empower them. Over the past two years, the CSIR’s interactions with key national role players in the disability field have indicated that access to information, services and the ability to effectively communicate is a key need, at all levels.
In response to these challenges the CSIR, Disabled Peoples’ Organisations and relevant government institutions have conceptualised a comprehensive national ‘networking and communication’ system for disability, known as the National Accessibility Portal (NAP) project, which is based on Internet technologies, and which addresses development and independence for people with disabilities.
What type of education on the Internet will potential users receive?
Usage by unskilled people will be facilitated by interpreters and helpers trained in ICT and disabilities (including people with disabilities) at the service centres. Pilot service centres will be implemented in the Limpopo Province during phase 2 of the project. The learning and specific needs for various types of centre (rural, urban, peri-urban) will then be packaged into an implementation framework, so that these service centres can be replicated and rolled out as needed throughout the provinces. A service centre will be provided in each of the remaining provinces and then handed over to the provincial government in order to facilitate rollout throughout the province. The aim is to ensure sustainability of each service centre.
When will the prototype be finalised and will I be able to purchase it commercially or from the CSIR?
Phase 1 of the National Accessibility project ran from February 2004 to December 2004 and has been successfully completed resulting in a prototype demonstrator. The prototype served as a demonstrator of concepts and is not available as a live system. The final product, the portal, will not be a commercial product and will be web based accessible via the Internet from anywhere in the country including from home as well as specific and specially equipped service centres and access points located in schools, clinics, hospitals, multi-purpose community centres.
Will NAP improve the quality of my life?
The goal of the National Accessibility Portal (NAP) is to develop and implement innovative, cost-effective and appropriate technologies to support people with disabilities so that they can play a full, participatory role in society.
I would like to enquire about NAP to see if it can be used to facilitate my computer usage at home.
NAP will be a one-stop information, services and communications channel developed as a web based system accessible via the Internet. Users at home with Internet access will have the ability to access this portal.