Flipkart, centre sign MoU to enhance skill sets to increase employability for People with Disabilities

Ecommerce major Flipkart on Wednesday signed an MoU with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) and Skill Council for Persons with Disability (SCPwD), to improve inclusiveness in the mainstream workforce.

Signed in the presence of Anjali Bhawra, Secretary of DEPwD, Flipkart will work with DEPwD and SCPwD to jointly create structured skill development interventions and enable mechanisms for bringing PwDs into the mainstream economy and ecommerce sector in the next two years.

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Additionally, Flipkart will provide easy access to learning opportunities for PwDs to acquire relevant skills through the National Skill Qualification Committee, and skills for supply chain operations through Flipkart’s Supply Chain Operations Academy.

Virendra Kumar, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, said,

“Divyangjan or Persons with Disabilities need support and not sympathy. This MoU between DEPwD, SCPwD, and Flipkart will open up opportunities for them and play a major role in equipping them with the right skill sets to enhance their employability.”

At present, Flipkart claims to have employed over two lakh workforce with a structured diversity programme that includes employing women and PwDs. 

Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Flipkart, said,

“We are proud of the fact that we have men, women, and PwDs working together in our supply chain, helping break the stigma around their participation in the mainstream workforce, and we are committed to increasing their participation. Our MoU with the DEPwD and SCPwD will enable Flipkart to use its expertise and learning over the years in upskilling PwDs and creating an ecosystem for their employment.”

In 2017, Flipkart started an initiative called Ekartians with Disabilities (EDAB) to create job opportunities for PwDs for varied roles across its supply chain for sustainable economic growth and contribute positively to society.

In July last year, Flipkart established its first-ever PwD-run delivery hub in New Delhi, managed end-to-end by PwDs working in various roles, including delivery executives, cashiers, and team leaders. Flipkart has close to 1,500 people with disabilities across its supply chain. 

Flipkart provides these employees with training in workflows, including sensitisation sessions, special classroom training, and on-job training with the help of sign language interpreters. Employees in consumer-facing roles, such as wish masters (delivery executives), are provided with customer interaction cards to help any hearing-impaired employees communicate with ease. 

While delivery executives have SOS-enabled smartphones, special badges, and flashcards to communicate with customers, employees with disabilities on the warehouse floor are identified with a differentiated colour jacket as a security measure.