The two-week training forum for people with disabilities organized by the Batterjee Education and Training Academy opened Wednesday in Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia needs a national strategy to ensure that people with disabilities are given training and support to enter the workplace, a leading consultant in the field said here recently.

Khalid bin Abduljalil Batterjee, chairman of the Batterjee Education and Training Academy (BETA), was speaking at a forum on how to assist those with special needs.

The two-week training forum for disabled people opened Wednesday.

He expressed his hope that there would be a national strategy in place in 2015 to help them become active participants in society. He said a national strategy was vital to ensure these people are able to complete their studies and vocational training to help them find jobs.

The Saudi consultant and training expert said medical and orthopedic experts are needed to develop a program that removes barriers for people with disabilities.

He said 150 experts and specialists would carry out the training in cooperation with the Canadian International Career College at the forum. Successful participants would be given certificates.
Batterjee said there are more than 730,000 disabled people in the Kingdom and almost 190 million in the world who are facing difficulties at work.

He said this requires proper training to develop their skills and build their confidence. The BETA academy was playing a leading role in serving the community with its expert trainers in the field.
The forum was also an opportunity to raise awareness about the rights and needs of people with disabilities.

“The forum provides training and rehabilitation services to more than 80 trainees who are working or preparing to enter the labor market — to raise their efficiency, develop their skills and improve their performance in the community,” he said.

He said it was also important to provide them with health care, a social support system and education on their rights.

He said many people were becoming disabled every day because of traffic accidents caused by reckless drivers. He said about 35 people a day, or over 1,000 a month become disabled because of traffic accidents.

“According to a study done by Aramco almost 40,000 people get injured annually, and the results showed that almost 30 percent of them became disabled permanently.”

He said accidents cost the country almost SR21 billion annually on health care and various forms of compensation.

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