Arab News, Wednesday, Mar 23, 2022 | Sha'ban 20, 1443
Saudi labor program Tamkeen offers 600 jobs for people with disabilities
Saudi Arabia:
About 50 government, private and non-profit sectors entities offered 600 job
opportunities for people with disabilities over the two-day Tamkeen exhibition
in Riyadh that ended on Monday.
The exhibition, which was organized by the
Authority for the Care of Persons with Disabilities, aimed to link the
competencies of people with disabilities to the business sector.
The exhibition, which was inaugurated by the CEO
of APD, Dr. Hisham Al-Haidari, included several activities and events —
including workshops presented by specialists — for individuals and entities.
These covered the basics of sign language, CV writing, personal interviews,
seminars on the rights of persons with disabilities in the labor market, the
role of the family in empowerment, and many success stories of disabled people.
Many people with disabilities from outside of
Riyadh benefited from the virtual exhibition through the link published on the
authority’s accounts on social networks.
“During the exhibition, an electronic link was
provided for those wishing to apply for job opportunities available during the
Tamkeen exhibition through a virtual exhibition of companies that have job
opportunities,” Suleiman Al-Rumaikhan, director of community communications at
APD, told Arab News.
“Anywhere in the Kingdom, you can enter through
the link and communicate with companies directly to review the job opportunities
offered there,” he said.
Al-Rumaikhan said that the importance of the
exhibition was in its mission to serve people with disabilities: “The challenge
was to link the work sectors and the competencies of people with disabilities
with their different abilities.”
Many agencies provided job opportunities in
various roles, “including leadership positions,” which were on display to
exhibition visitors with disabilities who were looking for work, he said.
Ahmed Al-Fuhaid, an expert on empowering people
with disabilities, said that “such exhibitions help to highlight the
competencies of people with disabilities and connect them with employers in a
way that ensures that they obtain their right to opportunities in the labor
market on an equal basis with their peers from society.”
“Some employers are surprised at the energies and
enthusiasm of persons with disabilities and their high qualifications, except
that they need equal opportunities and actual jobs to ensure that they are
considered an active element in the work community,” he said.
Al-Fuhaid said that the Kingdom’s Vision 2030
stipulated empowering people with disabilities and making them effective
individuals according to the highest standards.
He stressed the importance of empowering this
segment of society through the use of modern trends and successful global
practices “from the beginning of their joining the journey of searching for work
until they reach the stage of sustainability and job stability interspersed with
awareness and guidance and training in the skills needed by the labor market.”