Ha Noi, 5 November 2020- Thirty-nine students with disabilities will develop digital skills to be able to take digital employment opportunities, thus living independently with dignity, supporting their families, and contributing to the digital economy.

This is the objective of a five-month “Digital Employment Training Program for Persons with Disabilities Co-existing with COVID-19”, launched today with the collective efforts of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Government of Japan, and Will to Live Centre.  

“This is what we are contributing to the increased equal employment opportunities for persons with disabilities - the indicators of the Article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Sustainable Development Goal No.8 on Decent Work for all,” said UNDP Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen. “We must ensure that the existing inequalities and risks faced by persons with disabilities are not further deepened by COVID-19, and we can together Build Forward Better toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World, which will also be the theme of the approaching International Day for Persons with Disabilities”.

Two of the key findings of UNDP’s recent study on employment policies and their implementation for Persons with Disabilities are that reasonable accommodations have not been stipulated in the Law, and Persons with Disabilities have not been trained in new jobs to meet the demands of the new labor market.

In this project, Will to Live Center can become a role model of making reasonable accommodations and providing the latest digital skills for Persons with Disabilities to integrate into the dynamic economy of the Industrial Revolution 4.0.

“Each people has her/ his own ability and value,” said Founder and CEO of the Will to Live Centre Nguyen Thi Van. “We need to create equal opportunity for everyone to unleash their own potential”. She wished the students the strength to overcome all barriers and move forward.

“I wanted to go to the university but there is no elevator there and my mom can’t give me a piggyback ride climbing the stairs to my class every day so I have to stay home,” said Vo Thi Mien, 19 years old, from Ha Tinh province. “I was sad and wanted to integrate into the society. This digital skills training opens the second gate for me. I hope that I will have a decent job after graduation to support my family”.

“I have completed junior secondary school. When I was 16 years old, I learnt tailoring and got a job, but lost it during COVID-19,” said Sung A Thang, 20-year-old Mong ethnic. “I can type and play games on computer. I would like to learn photoshop and video making. My dream is to have a series of clothes shops so I want to make promotional photos/ videos for my shops. I would like to learn English, too”.

Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) are “among the hardest hit in the COVID-19 pandemic”. The Rapid Assessment on Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Persons with Disabilities conducted with nearly 1,000 respondents with disabilities by UNDP showed that 72% of PwDs have a monthly income of less than 1 million VND. 30 % of PwDs made unemployed due to COVID-19. 49 % who work had their hours reduced, and 59% received a pay cut. 71 % of working PwDs do seasonal/informal jobs or own an informal business, thus are at risk of being ineligible to receive allowances from the Government’s social welfare response package.