Doubts barrier to employment
Amina Fahmida Khanam, a youth from Uttara who completed her master's recently, has been applying at different places for a job for the last two years but she could not get one for being a physically challenged person.
The employers do not want to recruit her as they doubt whether she would be able to work properly although she has taken many skill development trainings that are designed for people like her.
“It hurts me a lot when I get rejected...due to the physical impairment. But I am confident enough to do the work,” she said.
Amina and some other challenged persons yesterday shared their experiences in their search for jobs during a discussion, “Inclusion of young persons with disabilities in skills and employment”, jointly organised by ActionAid and Access Bangladesh Foundation (ABF) at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.
“Employers' negative mindset regarding the disabled people is the main barrier to their employment. This exclusion ultimately creates a negative impact on the GDP and the country loses around US $1.2 billion per year,” Albert Mollah, executive director of ABF, said in his keynote presentation.
So the employers need to be committed to employ this group for including them in the country's workforce while colleagues' mindset also should change to ensure that the people get good behaviour, he said.
Surya Akter, a skill development specialist of Underprivileged Children's Education Programme (UCEP), said inadequate transport facilities for the challenged people was another barrier to their education or skill development training.
Echoing Surya, the mother of a challenged child Ayesha Parvin Kanta said, “Transport cost becomes triple when I bring my kid to school as most of the vehicles do not want to carry us and the vehicles are not friendly to the challenged people as well.”
“The disabled people will be able to do something, if they get good transport facility to travel outside for doing their works,” she said.
Salahuddin Kasem Khan, president of Bangladesh Employers Federation, said the government would have to fill up its 10 percent job quota for the challenged people and this would increase their employment opportunities.
“If any institution fails to do so, they will have to be held accountable by the labour ministry,” he said, adding that providing any job to a challenged person was not charity rather it was a responsibility.
Speaking as the chief guest, State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque said the government was aware of the employment issue of the challenged persons and the ministry would soon allocate some money from its welfare fund to support these people.
Kishore Kumar Singh, a skill development specialist of International Labour Organization; Mizanur Rahman, director (Vocational) at the Directorate of Technical Education; Mohammad Rezaul Karim, a director of National Skills Development Council; and Asgar Ali Sabri, director of Programme, Policy and Campaign at ActionAid, also spoke at the programme.
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