Mar 19, 2024
daretohiremenow.com

Patricia Aleckzandra | Gogagah

To help our PWD brothers and sisters promote their capabilities and showcase their potentials and skills in workplaces, UNILAB Foundation launched daretohiremenow.com at the Bayanihan Center, Mandaluyong City.

More than 60 PWDs, from those with intellectual disabilities to those physically impaired, attended the launch making them the first batch of job seekers who signed up and created their resumes online. Daretohiremenow is made possible through UNILAB Foundation’s Project Inclusion which aims not only to give PWDs the opportunity to work but also to have sustainable jobs that would help them in the near future. Project Inclusion also targets to change the perception of companies in hiring PWDs. Daretohiremenow is a website developed by Bootstrap Digital and Tech Ventures which is an inclusive company that also hires PWDs. The team also includes three PWDs who developed the website.

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The website launching was also part of UNILAB’s movement towards self-advocacy among PWDs. It encourages differently-abled people to be more independent – to communicate to others their interest, desires and needs. As what ULF Executive Director Rhodora Palomar-Fresnedi said, “It is time for them to advocate their own rights for education, inclusion, and employment.” She also added that it is the job of the society to set the right conditions and create the environment for PWDs to be able to work.

Going against the common recruitment practice, daretohiremenow does not seek for diplomas or degrees to be able to have a job position instead it matches the skills of job seekers with the job requirement from employers. The website gives employers and potential employees a win-win situation because it assures the employers that job seekers would have a positioned that would perfectly match their abilities and skills. On the other hand, the website can be a platform where PWDs can assess their skills and capabilities.

Through a job simulation process, attendees were given a taste on how the process of job application is. There were three stages which were included in the simulation – the Skills Assessment, Resume Building, and Practice Interviews. This will help PWDs for their job interviews specially for UNILAB’s new partner employers – Chef’s Secret, Tri-vision Ventures, Inc., and Lundy Solutions.

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(L-R) Patrick Takai [President of Lundy Solution], Rhodora [Fresnedi], and Arlita Samoy [HR Manager of Trivision Ventures & Chef’s Secret]
Having PWDs in the workplace may seem to be challenging for some. Fresnedi pointed out that having PWDs can bring the, what she calls, 3G – good for the PWDs, good for the co-workers, and good for the company. But in reality, the real challenge is not on the part of the job-seekers but the parents who have loved and cared for their sons and daughters. Yet, UNILAB ensures them that through Project Inclusion, their children are in good hands.

UNILAB now dares parents to let go of their children. Loosen their grips and let them enter a world out of their comfort zones. The movement dares not only PWDs and their families but also the society to accept our PWDs job seekers, to discover what rewards they can get from hiring them. UNILAB is now asking you: Will you accept the dare?


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