Yayasan Sultan Idris Shah (YSIS) and Persatuan DAYBREAK in collaboration with Department of Labour, Department of Social Welfare, Perak State Education Department and Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers Perak are organising a job fair for the differently abled (OKU Job Fair 2018) on Saturday, August 25 from 8.30am to 2.00pm at YSIS.
Dato’ Dr Ramanathan Ramiah, CEO of YSIS explained, “The disabled community is often sidelined when it comes to employment opportunities. The current law is not sufficient to protect the best interests of OKUs; hence this group is often discriminated against and not offered equal job opportunities. We should not underestimate the ability of the disabled community, as many are just as capable as the able-bodied.”
“There is a government policy that 1% of the disabled community should be employed by all government departments but it is now somewhere between 0.7% – 0.8%. Private sector companies are encouraged to step up and provide more employment opportunities to this group of people. As such, any private sector employers who are interested in giving job opportunities to OKUs are strongly encouraged to contact the organizers,” he added during a press conference held on Tuesday, July 31 at YSIS.
YSIS is an NGO which works very closely with the local community with the hope of rehabilitating children and adults with disabilities either from birth or acquired after an accident, stroke or surgery. Meanwhile, Persatuan DAYBREAK is an NGO established to provide vocational training skills for persons with disabilities. This is to provide them with opportunities to earn a livelihood, gain self-esteem, become self-reliant and be accepted by society.
“We have invited employers from Perak and they will be present at the job fair to conduct on-the-spot interviews for OKUs. We expect at least 150 OKU participants to register for the positions available. Department of Labour, Department of Social Welfare and Manpower Department will set up booths for registration during the job fair. State Health Department is conducting a health screening for all present. Youth & Sports Department will also have a booth to enlist potential paralympic athletes to train with them for future sporting events,” Dato’ Dr Ramanathan elaborated.
“Let us join forces to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate,” he concluded.
Job seekers are advised to dress in proper attire and to bring along resumes and photocopies of relevant certificates.
YSIS is located at located at Lot 158413, Lorong Bercham 11, Bercham, 31400 Ipoh. For more information, readers can call 05 241 3507 (Joanna – Department of Labour), 019 648 6354 (Steven – Department of Social Welfare), 016 305 6397 (Zaini – Perak State Education Department), 016 520 8660 (Louis – Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers), 05 548 1905 (Lakshmi – YSIS) or 05 323 5908 (Anna Lim – Persatuan DAYBREAK).
Mei Kuan
