Around 75% of people with disabilities in Hanoi are jobless

As many as 75% of working-age people with disabilities in Hanoi are still looking for work as opportunities in the labor market for them are scarce, according to the Hanoi Association of People with Disabilities.

They encounter barriers and a dearth of information about job recruitment. Even when they do manage to get hired, they are often self-deprecating and only work for a few days and then quit. Difficulties in accessing the building and public transport facilities also reduce their job opportunities. 

The job fair for young people with disabilities shows that many people with disabilities want to find suitable jobs and integrate into the community.

Nguyen Van Manh is blind and his wife, Nguyen Thi Hang, has muscle weakness. They have a nine-year-old daughter who is blind, cannot speak, walk and even chew rice.

“The allowance of nearly VND3 million (US$126.7) per month for us is not enough to buy porridge, milk, and medicine. Therefore, I came to the Job Fair with the desire to register as a collaborator to sell airline tickets. My husband hopes that some cafe will hire him,” Hang told The Hanoi Times.

There are also qualified disabled people who have made great efforts to overcome barriers but find it difficult to stay on the job due to their weak health and physical defects. Nguyen Ngoc Anh (born 1997) is only 1.08 meters tall and has worked for several companies, but has lasted in each position for about two years.

Women with disabilities apply at the Job Fair organized by the Hanoi Association of People with Disabilities and the Hanoi Employment Service Center in early September. Photo: Thuy Truc/ The Hanoi Times

"Before, when I worked at a computer company, my monthly salary was around $84.5 (8 hours per day) but I couldn't stand going up and down 10 floors every day, so I quit. Then, I went to the Hanoi labor exchange and signed up for a video recording apprenticeship, hoping to find a new job with a living wage," Anh shared with The Hanoi Times.

People with disabilities of working age have the desire to find a job but are met with disbelief on the part of companies about their ability. In addition, few companies are willing to invest in adapting workplaces for people with disabilities.

For many years, the Hanoi Association of People with Disabilities has found jobs for its members through plans, programs and projects to support them. Vice President Phan Thi Bich Diep said that the association has helped people with disabilities access loans from the Bank for Social Policies so that they can develop their own businesses.

“In five years (from 2012 to 2017), some 2,000 people with disabilities were granted a loan of VND40 billion (US$1.68 million) to run their business,” Diep said.

Well-qualified young disabled people can be referred by the association to work in companies and production facilities in the area. Disabled people in wheelchairs who are IT proficient are trained in online sales.

Currently, some big enterprises after having become aware of their social responsibilities and seeing some qualifications of people with disabilities, have hired them to work in suitable positions. In addition, some companies and cooperatives owned by people with disabilities also provide vocational training and create jobs for people in the same situation.

“Da Nang Aviation Joint Stock Company hires collaborators who are disabled to run air ticketing agents. We provide free vocational training and allow people with disabilities to work at home,” the company’s General Director Vo Quang Vu told The Hanoi Times.

With the desire to bring job opportunities to young people with disabilities who work hard and find a better chance, the Yoshine Melody Institute of Educational Sciences is conducting pilot training on guitar repair for people with disabilities.

To accompany the disadvantaged people, the Hanoi Employment Service Center will keep coordinating with the municipal  Association of People with Disabilities to organize job sessions for people with disabilities, in order to help and encourage disadvantaged people to join the labor market.