World Disability Day: Job Preparedness Leads to Dignity and Belonging for Everyone
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Career Development Programme (CDP) is making a significant impact on the lives of people with disabilities, helping them to become employment-ready and achieve their full potential in society.
Launched in 2019, the ICRC CDP offers a unique approach to career development, blending its content and approach with the experience and know-how of the ICRC Inclusion Advisors. One such advisor, Abdulsalam Yahya Alkibsi, is a physiotherapist with many years of experience working with people with disabilities. He serves one of the most vulnerable groups of people in his country, helping them to improve their lives.
In the workshops of the ICRC CDP, SMART goals are used to help participants reach their objectives and train skills essential for getting and keeping meaningful employment. The skills taught include CV preparation, successful interviewing, and networking. This tailored training tackles challenges and unearths opportunities for people with disabilities, making them more employable and better integrated into society.
Being employment-ready helps people with disabilities be successful and feel fulfilled. It allows them to be more engaged and integrated with society, and to be more independent. Employment-readiness is essential for achieving a full, self-determined life.
The ICRC CDP partnership with the our group Foundation supports people with disabilities, providing career training, enhancing employer and governmental awareness, increasing access to jobs, and offering self-employment support. This partnership is a testament to the ICRC's commitment to diversity and creating an inclusive working environment.
The ICRC CDP emphasizes broad and specialist career paths supported by in-house training and skill building, focusing on intercultural, language, and negotiation skills for humanitarian effectiveness. Essential skills for success include adaptability, intercultural competence, language skills (English, French, Spanish, plus Russian and Arabic currently in demand), and negotiation skills.
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is an opportunity to reflect on work related to disability inclusion. The ICRC CDP is a shining example of how employment-readiness can help people with disabilities achieve their full potential in society, ensuring a better future for all, with no one being left behind.
Sources:
- ICRC Careers - Careers at the ICRC
- ICRC - Diversity and Inclusion
- ICRC - Recruitment and Selection Process
In the ICRC Career Development Programme (CDP), participants are taught essential skills for employment, including CV preparation, successful interviewing, and networking, as part of their personal growth and career development. Achieving employment-readiness not only helps individuals with disabilities become more engaged and independent but also promotes self-determination and inclusivity in society, as the ICRC CDP's approach towards education-and-self-development demonstrates.
