Hanoi (VNA) - Thirty-nine students with disabilities will developthe skills needed to take on digital employment opportunities to help them liveindependently, support their families and contribute to the digital economy.

This is the objective of a five-month “Digital Employment Training Programmefor Persons with Disabilities Co-existing with COVID-19” that has been launchedwith the collective efforts of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), theGovernment of Japan, and the Will to Live Centre.

“This is what we are contributing to the increased equal employmentopportunities for persons with disabilities - the indicators of Article 27 ofthe Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and theSustainable Development Goal No 8 on Decent Work For All,” said UNDP ResidentRepresentative Caitlin Wiesen.

“We must ensure that existing inequalities and risks faced by persons withdisabilities are not further deepened by COVID-19, and we can together buildforward better toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable postCOVID-19 world, which will also be the theme of the approaching InternationalDay for Persons with Disabilities”.

Two of the key findings of the UNDP’s recent study on employment policies andtheir implementation for persons with disabilities were that reasonableaccommodation was not stipulated by law, and that persons with disabilitieswere not being trained in the skills necessary to meet the demands of the newlabour market.

As part of the project, the Will to Live Centre can lead the way by makingreasonable accommodation available and providing the latest digital skills forpersons with disabilities to integrate in the dynamic economy of the FourthIndustrial Revolution.

“Each people has their own ability and value,” said founder and CEO of the Willto Live Centre Nguyen Thi Van. “We need to create equal opportunities foreveryone to unleash their potential,” she added, calling on students to findthe strength to overcome all barriers and move forward.

“I wanted to go to university but there was no elevator there and my mumcouldn't give me a piggyback up the stairs to my class everyday so I had tostay at home,” said Vo Thi Mien, 19, from Ha Tinh province. “I was sad becauseI wanted to integrate into society. Digital skills training opens a second gatefor me. I hope that I can find a decent job after graduation to support myfamily.”

“I can type and play games on the computer. I've completed junior secondaryschool. When I was 16 years old, I learnt tailoring and got a job, but I lostit during COVID-19,” said Sung A Thang, a 20-year-old from the Mong ethnicgroup.

“I would like to learn photoshop and video-making. My dream is to have a seriesof clothes shops so I want to take promotional photos/videos for my shops. Iwould like to learn English, too,” he said.

Persons with disabilities (Pwds) have been among the hardest hit by theCOVID-19 pandemic. The UNDP's Rapid Assessment on Socio-Economic Impacts ofCOVID-19 on Persons with Disabilities that covered nearly 1,000 respondentsshowed that 72 percent had a monthly income of less than VNĐ1 million; 30 percenthad been made unemployed due to COVID-19; 49 percent had their work hoursreduced, and 59 percent had received a pay cut.

Meanwhile, 71 percent of PwDs had seasonal/informal jobs or owned an informalbusiness, so they were at risk of being ineligible to receive allowances fromthe Government’s social welfare response package./.