Career exhibition empowers persons with intellectual disabilities, autism

HE the Minister of Social Development and Family (MSDF) Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser al-Misnad has inaugurated the first edition of the career day for persons with intellectual disabilities and autism, in the presence of HE the Minister of Labour Dr Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri.

Organsed by the MSDF's Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities, the career day is a first-of-its-kind exhibition that empowers persons with disabilities (PWDs) and draws supporters and partners to get familiarised with the abilities of PWDs and autism, along the services the centre provides to help them include in the society through offering job opportunities that best suit their talents.

Accompanied by the acting director of Civil Service and Government Development Bureau (CGB) Saif bin Ali al-Kaabi, HE al-Misnad, alongside HE Dr al-Marri toured several corners of the expo that chiefly showcase the most important professions on which the centre's affiliates had been trained.

In addition, she toured a special corner for coffee-making, run by several of the centre's affiliates, and was briefed on an overall workshop for Shafallah grocery, where affiliates produce many products and sell them out, in addition to the centre's operation in the production line of Qatar Airways, Al Meera and Mahaseel sell products. Also, she toured the cooking workshop offered by the centre's affiliates and is supervised by chef Nouf al-Marri.

Executive Director of the Shafallah Center Maryam Saif al-Suwaidi said the organisation of the career day primarily intends to broaden the horizons of shared collaboration through a whole-of-government approach and invite HR managers and recruitment personnel operating in a variety of sectors nationwide to visit Shafallah Center and get familiarised with the abilities of PWDs and autism in a concrete environment to open new training tracks and ensure provision of production lines and an environment conducive that help them receive suitable jobs in diverse sectors, besides promoting the awareness of employers and recruitment staff on how to deal with PWDs in workplaces.

Al-Suwaidi affirmed that employing PWDs in the state institutions helps achieve their self-independence and inclusion in the society and ultimately make them capable of eliminating all encountered obstacles, in addition to enjoying better life, pointing out that the centre gives foremost priority to provide career training services, in recognition of the importance of honing the PWDs' skills and advancing their professional capabilities so as to assist them in obtaining appropriate job opportunities in the future that achieve their self-independence.

Additionally, al-Suwaidi commended the unwavering support the centre receives from the MSDF so as to empower the persons with intellectual disabilities and autism in multiple public and private sectors. She declared that the centre has launched the first edition of the guide to employ persons with intellectual disabilities and autism, as a first-of-its-kind document in Qatar and abroad, affirming that the guide clarifies the notions of empowering them, in terms of legal and legislative aspects, along with the professions that best suit them and adapting workplaces to their special needs.

For her part, Assistant Undersecretary for National Manpower Affairs at the Ministry of Labor (MoL) Shaikha Abdulrahman al-Badi underscored that MoL is committed to empowering PWDs professionally and ensuring appropriate jobs for them to build their self-independence and be included in the labour market both in the public and private enterprises.

Al-Badi pointed out that the third National Development Strategy strives to increase the proportion of Qataris out of the total manpower both in the private and joint sectors. She underscored the importance of professional expos in helping students and job-seekers internalise the nature of labour market and explore the potential jobs for them, affirming that the career day represents an opportunity for participants to be aware of the abilities of persons with intellectual disabilities and autism, along with the service afforded by the center to further include them in the society and find best jobs for them.