Cordial and articulate, with a zest for adventure, Shubham is an Arts major turned tech buff who has thrived on the skill-broadening exposure brought to him by Vision-Aid’s Digital Accessibility Testing and Training Program.

Presently employed at HCL as a Digital Accessibility Tester, Shubham fondly reminisces about the series of events that led him to clinch such a covetable position, and how Vision-Aid made a debut at a crucial juncture in his life. 

Having spent his nascent years in a remote village in the Amaravati district of Maharashtra, Shubham was raised on a steady diet of Hindi literature which fostered his passion for political philosophy.  

Shubham and two of his siblings, who also lived with visual impairment, thrived on each other’s support and guidance through school and college.  

With opportunities from the urban world rarely penetrating into the chrysalis of his remote home, Shubham was fortunate enough to have trusted friends and confidantes who urged him to explore new avenues of achievement.

A wanderphile at heart, Shubham has traversed several prominent cultural and political hubs of India, including New Delhi, where he met and conversed with several writers and journalists, including his personal idol Nirendra Nagar. 

After graduating with a degree in Political Science, Shubham decided to try his luck at receiving a COPA (Computer Operator and Programming Assistant) certification, a covetable central government-funded training program at NIVH – the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped. 

Despite having never received any formal computer training, Shubham managed to clinch a seat at NIVH Dehradun, being the first student to be admitted to the program out of 300 applicants. 

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He completed the year-long training in 2018, much to the pride and delight of his family,  while also making several close friends among students and the faculty at NIVH. 

From then on, Shubham went from strength to strength. With only a rudimentary understanding of coding, he proceeded to Bangalore, India’s bubbling IT hub to participate in the Enable India 2019 program for advanced employability skills.  

With the plethora of technical and soft skills on offer, he began to steel himself for a tectonic career launch into the IT world.  

When the pandemic struck, Shubham was caught unawares, far from his family, and also bereaved by the death of a close friend. Nonetheless, he fortified himself and vowed not to halt in his pursuit of an IT career. 

It was at this defining point in his life that Shubham was introduced to Vision Aid through his acquaintances at the Enable India Program. Being offered a spot in the much-lauded Digital Accessibility Programme was serendipitous indeed – so he decided to take a leap of faith to refresh his knowledge and upskill himself.

The four-month intensive course opened up pathways to multitudes of digital concepts and applications including programming, ARIA authoring practices, and much more. 

Armed with a globally-accredited certification, Shubham forayed ever more confidently into the arena of job hunting. 

A few months later he received a callback from HCL. Several gruelling interview rounds later, he clinched the role of Accessibility Tester, where he is required to test various reputed websites for their adherence to universal web content accessibility guidelines. 

Bagging the HCL role was one of many victories which Shubham attributes to the unwavering support of his mentors at Vision-Aid, his family, and friends. 

Shubham is a prolific blog writer himself, and I hope he finds this one to be a gripping read! 

A word to future aspirants – if you are feeling overwhelmed, take each day as it comes, and before you realize it, you would have gone much further than you imagined.