National Association for the Blind
NAB-K offers different kinds of training programmes, all aimed at making the visually challenged independent and integrated with mainstream society. NAB-k has a team of dedicated trainers who have won recognition and awards for their services. Some of the courses offered are:
- Foundation Course
- Train the Trainer Program
- Community Based Rehabilitation Program
Foundation Course
Our Foundation Course includes:
- Rehabilitation
- Mobility
- Daily Living Skills
- Employability / Vocational Skills
During the rehabilitation process, our counselors assist individuals (and their families) to adjust to their vision loss, and reassure them that they can manage life and work, independently. We help them apply for government provisions such as Disability ID cards, pensions and getting them registered in the local Panchayat. This year we rehabilitated 325 visually impaired persons as compared to 192 last year.
Duration of the Course
This is a 6 week residential course.
Eligibility
Any person who is visually challenged, male/female of age 18 years and above with normal health.
Accommodation
Separate hostels are available at the NAB campus for male and female trainees.
Curriculum
Daily living skills
Use of White cane
Seeking Public help
Fees
No fees is charged either for the training or for food and accommodation.
How to Apply
There are about 7 courses conducted during each year. One can join the course by contacting the Mobility Training Centre over phone on 080 2528 1439 / 2528 1590 (Monday to Friday from 10:00 Hrs to 17:00 Hrs).
The Foundation Course includes a 6-week mobility training program which covers the rules of walking in public using a cane, moving about in a room, negotiating steps and escalators, commuting in a bus and learning techniques to map and memorize routes and layouts in rural and urban areas. With over 40 years of experience, NAB-K Karnataka is India’s premier centre offering Mobility Training for the Visually Impaired.
Our instructors have won awards from the Government of Karnataka as the Best Trainers in the State. 112 students (out of which 67 came from our CBR program) were trained in 9 batches during this year in Bangalore, 27 of them were women and 85 were men. 19 students were trained in Mysore & 325 beneficiaries from our taluk level centers were trained at the taluk level centre.
Duration of the Course
This is a 6 week residential course.
Eligibility
Any person who is visually challenged, male/female of age 18 years and above with normal health.
Accommodation
Separate hostels are available at the NAB campus for male and female trainees.
Curriculum
Daily living skills
Use of White cane
Seeking Public help
Fees
No fees is charged either for the training or for food and accommodation.
How to Apply
There are about 7 courses conducted during each year. One can join the course by contacting the Mobility Training Centre over phone on 080 2528 1439 / 2528 1590 (Monday to Friday from 10:00 Hrs to 17:00 Hrs) .
We teach the visually impaired basic hygiene habits and personal management techniques. We also teach them life skills which includes self care such as managing their medication, grooming themselves, telling time, identifying currency and clothes; Home Science such as basic cooking, cleaning the house; Soft skills such as people skills, social skills and communication skills. We also teach the visually impaired to read and write in Braille. Teaching of Braille, music, soft skills, will be between 5.00 P.M to 8.00 P.M and we will conduct cultural activities between 8.00 A.M to 10.00 A.M.
Duration of the Course
This is a 6 week residential course.
Eligibility
Any person who is visually challenged, male/female of age 18 years and above with normal health.
Accommodation
Separate hostels are available at the NAB campus for male and female trainees.
Curriculum
Daily living skills
Use of White cane
Fees
No fees are charged either for the training or for food and accommodation.
How to Apply
There are about 7 courses conducted during each year. One can join the course by contacting the Mobility Training Centre over phone on 080 2528 1439 / 2528 1590 (Monday to Friday from 10:00 Hrs to 17:00 Hrs).
In the Foundation course, we provide training on Employability skills which includes white collar, blue collar or self-employment skills. We have 3 programs listed under this:
a) DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAM: Our computer training course for the Visually impaired includes basic computer concepts like Keyboard Orientation, Ms Word, Ms Excel, Internet and E-mail with the help of a screen reader software called NVDA (Non visual Desktop Application).It also includes training in Spoken English, Life skills, Communication skills, Job interview skills & General Knowledge. This year, we held 3 batches of the Digital Literacy Program and trained a total of 35 students. In partnership with Enable India, a summer camp on digital literacy was conducted. 17 visually impaired students from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were trained in basic computer skills. Training programs have been initiated to enable the visually impaired school/ college graduates in skills to take up entrance exams for white collared jobs in Banks, insurance companies and other roles in the Private, Public and Government centers (KPSE, Railways, Insurance, Staff Selection Commission etc).
Duration of the Course
Basic : 80 Hours – Advanced Programming: 1 Year
Eligibility
10+2 with strong communication skills in English,Typing and Braille.
Accommodation
Separate hostels available for male and female trainees
Basic:
Microsoft Word , Microsoft Powerpoint , Microsoft Excel , Communicate via Email , The use of Internet
Advanced Computer Training:
Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 , Programming Logic and Techniques , Visual Basic 6.0 , Project Work
We are planning to include courses in HTML, CSS and Accessibility Testing. Watch this space for updates.
How to Apply
One can join the course by contacting the Computer Training Centre over phone or by sending e-mail to training@nabkarnataka.org or applying for the same on plain paper giving details of their name, age, address, contact phone no, e-mail address, qualifications etc .For details of the starting dates for various programs click on Training Schedule.
Fees
Accommodation and Training is provided free of cost
b) INDUSTRIAL/ TECHNICAL TRAINING COURSE : NAB-K, Mysore has been awarded ‘Best Institution providing technical training for the visually impaired’, by the Government of Karnataka. We have identified a number of Technical and Industrial blue-collared jobs that are suitable for the Visually Impaired and have created training programs which enable them to learn these skills, along with the discipline, quality and safety standards required to work in an industrial environment. Some of the types of Job opportunities we have identified for the visually impaired include: •Packing and folding In the Garment Industry •Deburring in Aluminum die-casting •Machining and Assembly operations NAB-K works closely with businesses in different geographies and identifies jobs that can be performed by the Visually Impaired. NAB-K provides the necessary training and skill building required with the help of the employer’s supervisory staff.
Our 28th batch of Industrial/ Technical Training Course in Mysore consists of 31 hearing and visually Impaired students, undergoing training since 6th July 2017. The 27th batch consisting of 30 trainees completed the course in June 2017. 25 students from this batch have found employment in local industries. A new batch of 9 visually impaired students have enrolled in the Industrial/ Technical Training Course which began in March 2018 in NAB-K, Bangalore.
Eligibility:
SSLC/Matriculation/10th Standard Pass and people who are Blind/Partially Blind/Deaf
Accommodation
Candidates have to make their own arrangements for stay at Mysore.
Fees
Training is provided free of cost.
Curriculum
Light Engineering
Re-caning
Plastic Injection Moulding
Coir Rope making
Electrical Wiring
How to Apply
One can join the course by contacting the ITCB over phone or by sending e-mail to training@nabkarnataka.org.
c) Self Employment: We have enable 234 of our visually impaired students to get employment in and around their place of residence or become self employed. As compared to 162 last year. We train the visually impaired on entrepreneurial skills to become self employed. In the rural areas, we assist the visually impaired to set up petty shops, selling of vegetables, selling of seasonal crops, weighing scales, cow and sheep rearing and other local entrepreneurial opportunities. We also help the Self Employed visually impaired set up a Self Help Group (SHG) or Sangha.
The Sangha is a separate legal entity with its own bank account and is managed by the visually impaired. To run this setup they require funds. NAB-K helps them apply for a Bank loan. Employers can treat these self help groups as vendors. They are then able to generate their own income and share it among themselves.
Train the Trainer
Capacity building & scaling Objectives/ Train the Trainer program:
NAB-K is the only institution in the country which has a Train the Trainer program which includes mobility training and community based rehabilitation training for the visually impaired.
Our Train-the-Trainer program generates 16 new instructors per year. This program enables us to establish new taluk level locations each year, thus increasing our capacity by 400-500 beneficiaries per year
Duration of the Course
6 month program followed by a 1 year internship at NAB-K centres
Accommodation
Separate hostels are available at the NAB-K campus for male and female trainees.
The training program includes exposure to operations in the rural area in our Taluk centres, in the 1-year internship, students are made to work in the taluk level centres.
Eligibility
Prerequisites attitude and aptitude for social welfare
Academic qualification:
BA, BED, BSW, MSW, diploma in social welfare, ITI with some work experience
How to Apply
One can join the course by contacting the ITCB over phone or by sending e-mail to training@nabkarnataka.org.
Our Rural Outreach Program
Our Rural Outreach programmes take our cause to the grassroot level, enabling the visually challenged in the rural segment, lead a life of independence and self-sustenance.
As part of our rural outreach initiatives, we have established taluk level centres and extended our reach to rural Karnataka. Our Community Based Rehabilitation programme take our cause to the grassroot level, enabling the visually challenged in the rural segment, lead a life of independence and self-sustenance.
Community Based Rehabilitation Program
We have established Taluk Level Centers and extended our reach into rural Karnataka. In collaboration with the local community, local NGOs, and the local Panchayats, we have surveyed 551 villages and identified 706 visually impaired persons and thirty-nine hearing impaired persons in our Taluka Level Centers. We help them apply for government provisions such as Disability ID cards, pensions and getting them registered in the local Panchayat. We then enroll them into our Foundation Course delivered in our Taluk Level Centers and provide them with the necessary, Life skills, Mobility training, vocational skills, self-employment skills and help them establish self-help groups/ Sanghas.
We also took up a new project called Anekal Taluk under Bangalore rural district. We are working towards adding a new Taluka Level Centre in Kundapur, Udupi district. We have been receiving good support and appreciation from the Zilla Panchayat and Taluka Panchayats for the commendable work done in identifying, training and Rehabilitation of the visually impaired persons by our Taluka centers.
