Brac hosts policy dialogue on skills, employment for people with disabilities

Policy changes, along with learnings from the project "Disability Inclusive Vocational Training and Youth Employment", was recommended at an event, aiming to create decent employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, hosted by Brac on Thursday.

The event took place at Renaissance Hotel in the capital, said a press release on Saturday.

State Minister for Social Welfare Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru was the chief guest at the event while Brac Senior Director KAM Morshed delivered the welcome speech.

Sightsavers Bangladesh Country Director Amrita Rejina Rozario and National Skills Development Authority Executive Chairman (Secretary) Nasrin Afrose were present as special guests. The closing speech was delivered by Brac Director (Education, Skill Development and Immigration) Safi Rahman.

In his speech, State Minister Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru said, "Inclusiveness is about giving equal access to everyone and also changing the perception of society. The Government of Bangladesh and BRAC need to work together to ensure inclusiveness and access to facilities and services found in the community for persons with disabilities in order to achieve an inclusive society".

Brac's Senior Director KAM Morshed said, "10% of the population, a startling amount, has a disability and makes up one of the most vulnerable groups because they receive little to no help. In light of this, BRAC organized a National Policy Dialogue to discuss project learnings ("Disability Inclusive Vocational Training and Youth Employment" with the assistance of Inclusive Future) and advocate policy to create decent employment opportunities for those with disabilities".

"The STAR model developed by Brac is a tried-and-true inclusive strategy, but in order to enhance things, two objectives must be done: we must recognize the potential of the individual; we must link the local market and the industrial market with the disabled community," said Sightsavers' Country Director Amrita Rejina Rozario.

Brac skills development programme, along with partners ADD International, the Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) and Light for the World, launched a training programme called – "Disability Inclusive Vocational Training and Youth Employment" in 2020.

The organisations are part of the Inclusive Futures consortium - a flagship disability inclusive development programme funded by multiple donors, including UK aid.

From the inception of the project until now it has reached 1,233 youths with disabilities with skills training. Among the trained graduates, 97% have secured employment in the informal market. In addition to this 261 youths have received assistive device support and 703 have been supported to receive a golden citizenship card. Furthermore, four learning documents have been generated during the project period including a stigma report, a behavioral change communication toolkit and a policy brief.