Photo credit: Dramane Sessouma
This year, Aide et Action decided to participate in the Duo Day operation initiated by the French government to raise awareness on the issue of access to employment for people with disabilities. Nadia Talbot, the International Director of Human Resources at Aide et Action, explains to us the origin of this approach and its interest for both the employees and the people we serve.
Why did you choose to participate in Duo Day?
Aide et Action defends the idea of inclusive education where each child must be taken into account through an adapted welcome in schools. We have therefore developed many projects including children with disabilities. Participating in DuoDay is a natural part of this inclusive approach.
In France, about 12 million people are disabled. Of these, 18% are unemployed, which is twice the national average. We have no short-term recruitment prospects, but it seemed important to us to offer people with disabilities the opportunity to discover our business, our missions and our working environment.
What do you expect from this action?
We hope that this day of immersion will enable the people we are going to welcome to refine their professional project, to facilitate their integration into employment and perhaps to make them want to join the NGO sector. In addition, this day will be an opportunity for our employees to be made aware of disability in a professional context.
How many employees have volunteered? Are you satisfied with this number?
Eight employees volunteered (19% of our workforce). We managed to form six pairs (one offer without a candidate and one candidate withdrew). For a first participation, this number is very satisfactory and proves that our employees feel concerned by the theme of disability.
What is the programme for the day?
The Director General, Charles-Emmanuel Ballanger, and myself will welcome the Duos over breakfast and then we will introduce them to Aide et Action. Then, each person will go and discover the job of his or her partner and his or her working environment during the morning and afternoon. A lunch break is planned in a restaurant near our offices. Finally, at 4pm, the pairs will meet to evaluate the day.
What types of jobs will be covered by the participants?
Six jobs are offered: Community Manager, International Philanthropy Officer, Major Donors and Donations Officer, Accountant, International Digital Communication Coordinator, HR Administration Officer.
Have you made your employees aware of the issue of disability?
In October, our employees benefited from a disability awareness session led by Papillons du Jour, the first adapted communication agency.
How does your organisation take disability into account?
In France, none of our employees have declared themselves to be disabled, but we are currently assisting an employee in his application for recognition as a disabled worker. Taking into account the disabilities of employees in the other regions where we operate will be one of the Human Resources projects for 2022.
