By Francis Kajubi , The Guardian
EMPLOYERS in the private sector are encouraged to adhere to the Persons with
Disabilities Act, 2010, which mandates them to allocate a minimum of three percent of their employee recruitment goals to individuals with disabilities.Suzanne Ndomba-Doran, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Tanzania Employers (ATE), made the call yesterday when she graced the launch of the Ready Inclusive Sustainable Employment and Entrepreneurship (RISE/E) program under the FutureMakers portfolio by Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania.
She said that the program aims to support 270 young people with disabilities (50 percent women) to access employability skills development, in alignment with labor market demands and their aspirations, with a target of 2.25bn/-.
The program further targets 108 young people with disabilities to gain sustainable employment. The project also aims to support 90 microbusinesses by providing expert business development advice in order to create 144 job opportunities.
"We, employers in the private sector, need to set a good example when it comes to empowering people living with disabilities," said Doran.
ATE is very pleased to note that this program aims to strengthen opportunities and outcomes for young people, especially those with disabilities, to have decent employment through increased employability skills.
She highlighted ATE's awareness of the program's focus on organizational strengthening and job creation among micro-businesses led by young people.
"Gender equality and youth are very important groups in the development of our country. Some of them have talents and skills to work very efficiently," she said.
ATE, as a member of the National Advisory Council for people with disabilities in the country, has continued to cooperate with the government under the PMO's Office-Labor, Youth, Employment, and Persons with Disabilities to ensure that the interests of employees with disabilities are considered in the workplace.
Dr. Elizabeth Mshote, Dar es Salaam Assistant Regional Administrative Secretary in charge of Economy and Productivity, commended the bank for launching a program that targets economically empowering people living with disabilities, especially women.
"I'm glad to hear that the second phase will reach 270 women with disabilities to acquire skills for employability," said Mshote.
Jerry Agyeman-Boateng, the bank's head of consumer and investment, stated that youth entrepreneurship has the potential to positively impact local communities through the creation of economic opportunities.
Despite holding much promise, he mentioned that youth entrepreneurs face barriers such as limited access to capital, access to market information, poorly designed technical assistance, and lack of support.
According to him, young entrepreneurs with disabilities and women face additional hurdles that further impede their entrepreneurial aspirations and potential for impact and upwards mobility.
"This program will make a real difference for young entrepreneurs, with and without disabilities, to grow their businesses and strengthen small businesses," he said.
He noted that phase one of the program started in 2019 to address inequality and promote greater economic inclusion through education, employability, and entrepreneurship, based on the success that the bank registered.
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