Muscat: Jasour – News Desk
Today witnessed the graduation of 60 individuals from the second batch of the “Be with Us for Them” initiative aimed at training and qualifying individuals with special needs in Oman.
Her Excellency Dr. Laila bint Ahmed Al-Najjar, Minister of Social Development and sponsor of the event, emphasized the role and contribution of the private sector, companies, and government institutions that provided job opportunities for individuals with special needs after completing their training program.
Her Excellency noted that the success achieved in training, qualifying, and empowering this group to serve the community and build it by providing appropriate job opportunities and acquiring skills during the training period has contributed to their nomination for jobs in the private sector, which played the biggest role in the initiative to employ them and integrate them into the labor market.
She added that the partnership with the private sector has a significant impact on caring for this group, stemming from its belief in their ability to contribute and that they possess many skills and capabilities that can be invested in by providing them with job opportunities. The initiative included training fields in customer service, office management, document printing and photocopying, and electronic archiving.
The initiative involved training and qualifying 21 individuals with intellectual, physical, and hearing special needs at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Sohar, North Al Batinah Governorate, while 39 individuals with intellectual, mild to moderate physical, and hearing special needs were trained at the Mohammed Al-Barwani Training Institute in Al-Adheeba, Muscat Governorate.
The initiative, a partnership between the Ministry of Social Development and the Center for Specialized Human Development, aims to contribute to achieving the Oman Vision 2040 and its mission and values, encouraging key sectors in Oman to achieve the strategic goals of national priorities related to enhancing support for social responsibility and empowering individuals with special needs, and investing in the creative ideas of human resources and competencies.
Additionally, the initiative aims to improve and develop work systems with the concept of social responsibility, increase the state’s ability to efficiently utilize its resources across all sectors, and highlight the role of governmental entities, private sector companies, and civil society organizations in activating the concept of partnership in social responsibility to support this group.
The initiative seeks to provide advanced social services and programs that meet community needs, create an integrated institutional community partnership system that enhances identity, citizenship, social cohesion, and solidarity.
The ceremony included showcasing success stories of several graduate employees from this initiative, as well as a video presentation titled “Building and Giving,” which depicted the launch of the “Be with Us for Them” initiative to qualify individuals with special needs and featured private sector institutions that employed several initiative participants.
Dina Al-Khalili, General Manager of Al-Jisr Foundation for Charity Work, stated that the “Be with Us for Them” initiative reflects a shared vision to empower individuals with special needs and enhance their role in society as active partners in development with the ability to contribute and create change.
She added that the foundation believes that true empowerment begins with creating an inclusive environment that provides opportunities for everyone, pointing out that the foundation’s support for the initiative stems from the firm belief that investing in the capabilities of individuals with special needs is not just a moral or social commitment but a fundamental element for achieving sustainable development.
It is worth mentioning that the “Be with Us for Them” initiative to qualify individuals with special needs began in September 2022. It has secured 57 direct job opportunities, paid training with employment, through the participation of 13 private sector entities, aiming to contribute to the employment empowerment of individuals with special needs for 500 beneficiaries by 2027.
