After completing a four-month perfumery course for the visually impaired at VG Vaze College in Mulund, Mumbai, Mr Rahul Vijay Shirsat has joined the company whereby he has started his training on raw materials, basic fragrance families, market products and various types of fine fragrance before moving on to learn CPL’s library of fragrances.
"I am very happy to be working in the fragrance industry. For me it is the best industry for visually impaired people and there are opportunities to progress," he says on the appointment.
The research and perfumery course included a test that examined the candidates’ ability to differentiate between very similar odours and to rank identical odours in strength. It revealed that the visually impaired candidates showed a significantly improved ability to identify certain odour groups than the sighted candidates who took the same test.
The full test results and methodology have now been published in the industry journal, Perfumer and Flavorist magazine.
The college is said to have opened the programme following the research by CPL Aromas in the hope of advancing the employment opportunities for the visually impaired in the fragrance and associated industries.