Friday, 21 August 2009
For the first time ever in Uzbekistan specialized job fairs for people with disabilities (PWD) were held in Shakhrisabz on 12 August and Samarkand on 20 August.
Already 32 PWD found their job places in Shakhrisabz. THe job fair in Shakhrisabz hosted more than 162 PWD who were offered various job places in 36 private companies and public organizations from Shakhrisabz city.
The event was organized in the framework of project "ACCESS", implemented jointly by UNDP Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan and in support of local authorities (hokimiyats) as well as Employment support centers of Shakhrisabz and Samarkand cities.
It is intented to give PWDs a possibility to show their professional skills and look for employment opportunities. In Shakhrisabz city the event was held in one of the ancient historical places called Oq Saroy.
"I was a bit skeptic about coming to this event. I'm looking for a job of an assistant for accounting work, as I'm specializing in finance and accounting at my college. I never thought that there would be job opportunities also for PWD. I decided to first attended computer courses organized by project ACCESS to get additional skills and later apply to companies that I have encountered at this specialized job fair," said 18 year old Firuza Ergasheva.
The project ACCESS (Accessibility Civic Consciousness Employment Social Support) is aimed at expanding the opportunities of social inclusion and employment for PWDs through raising public awareness and forming a positive public opinion on the issues of disability; improving the coordination and the building capacity of state and non-state actors in the promotion of implementation of legislation towards PWD; promoting accessibility to social infrastructure; creating a system of social support and the employment of PWDs.
