Details added (first version posted on 14:09)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 24
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Azerbaijan assigns a special role to attracting people with various categories of disability to self-employment program, Salim Muslumov, minister of labor and social protection of population, told reporters in Baku Nov. 24.
The ministry plans to increase the program’s coverage by 5-6 times next year, he said.
“About 1,320 families were involved in the self-employment program this year, and we tried to ensure the necessary inclusiveness,” Muslumov said. “Citizens with disabilities also took part in the program, however, their number was too small, and this didn’t satisfy us. Next year, we plan to attract at least 6,000-7,000 families, including disabled people who want to work.”
The minister also noted that people with disabilities will be able to improve their professional skills and master new professions with the help of regional vocational education centers.
“We plan to open one such center until the end of the year, and create three more centers next year,” he added. “As you know, we have the Vocational Rehabilitation Center for young people with disabilities in Ramana settlement of Baku city, where more than 1,200 people were trained. In order to facilitate this task for citizens in the districts, we plan to use our regional centers. After receiving education in these centers, citizens with disabilities will be able to get involved in the self-employment program.”