Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Ltd and India’s largest producer of aluminum, has now hired several differently-abled individuals across its operations in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, ramping up its efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DE&I) within the metals and mining sector. These individuals, experiencing impairments ranging from loss of vision to limited mobility, have been mapped to jobs that closely match their skill set and unique abilities, and are provided specialized training for their job responsibilities by domain experts. This is a noteworthy move as it is far more complex to hire differently-abled people in the heavy engineering, metals, and core manufacturing sector, than in other sectors such as the back-office or service industry.

Hired from within the communities residing around its operations, the nearly 20 employees are now contributing to the company’s operations in a diverse array of roles, ranging from commercial, human resources, and asset security to housekeeping, storekeeping, and carpentry. Hiring differently-abled personnel offers an opportunity for businesses to go beyond standardized approaches and focus on building a workplace that is truly inclusive. This outlook encompasses ensuring safety, such as specialized alerts for hearing-impaired individuals, to process augmentations, such as sourcing customized tools that allow for greater freedom of movement to mobility-impaired individuals.

Vedanta Aluminium endeavors to build the capabilities of these employees to ably handle job responsibilities at par with their colleagues and provide them with the opportunity to successfully join the socio-economic mainstream. The company facilitates this inclusion through a five-pronged strategy: (i) identifying potential individuals for hiring; (ii) comprehensive skill-focused training by experts; (iii) fostering an enabling environment via sensitization sessions for employees; (iv) enabling policies and processes; and (v) infrastructure enhancements that account for different abilities and ensure equitable approaches to mitigating restrictions. Additionally, the company has assigned dedicated Human Resources Business Partners to support the professionals in availing relevant government schemes, such as facilitating the issuance of disability certificates and securing supportive benefits from both state and central government programs.

Against this backdrop, Sunil Gupta, COO, Vedanta Ltd - Aluminium Business, commented, “At Vedanta Aluminium, embracing diversity isn’t just a moral imperative; it’s a strategic advantage for us. When we hire differently abled individuals, we don’t just open doors for them; we also open doors to added innovation, unbounded creativity, and a richer tapestry of perspectives within our organization which can be leveraged for exponential growth.”

Similarly, Rajesh Kumar, CEO & Wholetime Director, BALCO, stated, “We are nurturing an inclusive workforce environment that surpasses conventional perceptions and rewards aptitude and sheer passion for the job. Recognizing the immense value of embracing inclusivity in all its forms, we welcome our new employees and wish them a successful career.”

To this, Dilip Sinha, CHRO, Vedanta Ltd – Aluminium Business, added, “Vedanta Aluminium is committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming of all capable professionals that seek to continuously enhance their abilities. This approach has enabled us to remain at the forefront of people’s practices in the industry. The move to hire differently-abled professionals from the communities around our plant operations comes as a natural extension of this effort. When we grow, we ensure we take our communities along with us towards achieving sustainable progress.”

For more information: www.vedantaaluminium.com