Browsing by Author "Eita-Shapumba, Pauline"

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    Assessing availability of managerial employment opportunities for disabled persons in Omusati Town Councils
    (University of Namibia, 2022) Eita-Shapumba, Pauline; Mtigwe, Bruce
    This study assessed the employment opportunities at management level for persons with disabilities at town councils in the Omusati Region. This was with a particular focus on examining organisational factors of importance for the employment of persons with disabilities and assessing the effects of these factors on town councils' hiring practices. The study used the convergent parallel mixed methods research design employing both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect the data. Simple random sampling was used to select 92 staff members to complete the questionnaire, whilst purposive sampling method was used to select 4 Human Resources Managers/Officers to participate in the in depth interviews. The questionnaires were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software while qualitative data from interviews was summarised using Microsoft Office. The major finding of this study is a non-representation at management level and a low representation at the entry level for persons with disabilities at the four participating town councils. In addition, the study revealed that town councils do not have in place, workplace diversity policies or plans for the inclusion of persons with disabilities and no reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with disabilities. However, the study noted a positive perception towards persons with disabilities as well as knowledge of disability legislation among participants. The inferential statistical results do not show any significant effect of organisational factors on the employment of persons with disabilities. The study recommends that town councils should establish and execute diversity management policies and initiatives to improve the recruitment, promotion and retention of employees with disabilities. Town councils should further identify positions that can be reserved for persons with disabilities and collaborate with disability recruitment agencies or the Namibian National Disability Council to determine if suitably qualified people with disabilities can be placed in these roles