Is there a future in call centres for the visually impaired?

"If you think that finding a job is hard for a physically able person, I have news for you: it is twice as hard for a physically disabled person."

Anton Mijatovic speaks bluntly about his search for work as a visually impaired young man. Until recently, the only experience he had acquired was a co-operative job assignment arranged through his high school.

Set to graduate from the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind in Brantford, Ont., Mijatovic had worked in the city's land registry office during his co-op term, which whetted his appetite for full-time employment and the independent lifestyle it would afford him.

But once he was out on his own, the world wasn't quite so accommodating. Mijatovic recalls meeting with an employer in his native St. Thomas, Ont., who politely rebuffed him.

UNDAUNTED

"The employer kept coming up with excuses not to hire me," he remembers.

Undaunted, Mijatovic took some computer courses in nearby London and joined a government-funded program for youth. He was counselled to look for work in massage therapy or radio dispatching -- two fields where visually impaired persons traditionally do well in their careers.
"The massage therapy courses I found were too expensive, and while I considered 911 dispatching, I thought it might be too stressful for me," he says.

Searching the Internet one day -- Mijatovic uses software called JAWS to read the on-screen text to him in a synthesized voice -- he came across Centennial College's Call Centre Operations program.

Only one year long, it is quick and intensive training, and offers a 15-week work placement with leading organizations that operate large, integrated call centres.

Mijatovic also liked the fact that Centennial had built a state-of-the-art call centre training facility on campus, powered by Avaya technologies. He enrolled in 2004 and never looked back.

"Centennial proved to me that I am just as equal as a physically able person. I cannot thank the wonderful, friendly teachers and classmates enough for making Centennial a great place to be in and learn in," he says of his college experience.

Keen to gather the required 500 hours of workplace experience prior to graduation, he applied to 10 companies and heard back from three. He chose to work with Union Energy upon the advice of faculty.

Mijatovic started at the firm's Toronto call centre last May and quickly racked up his hours. To his surprise, he was offered a full-time job in November.

TELEMARKETING

Union Energy has been very supportive of Mijatovic and his disability. He works in the telemarketing department, promoting the company's furnace rental program and warranty products.

"It's a good working environment," he says. "It's the greatest feeling getting hired and not relying on government disability support programs."

Mijatovic still lives in Centennial's student residence because he needs one credit to graduate. He's established a flexible schedule with his employer to allow him to attend classes while still working full-time hours.

"Centennial, along with Union Energy, gave me the opportunity to come out of my shell, create my identity and establish myself," Mijatovic says.

His self-confidence shows when he thinks back to the early days of his job search after high school.

"There's still a lot of ignorance and discrimination when it comes to how the disabled are treated. We can do a lot of jobs an abled person can."