Towards More Inclusive Labor Market for Persons with Disabilities: KRG Implements a New Strategy
The session focused on a draft strategy that the ministry has prepared with technical support from UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, and funded by the Federal Republic of Germany.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) on Wednesday held a policy dialogue session on its freshly drafted strategy on the inclusion of youth and children with disabilities, particularly in the labor market.
Deputy Minister Zakia Sayed Salih chaired the ministry's Inclusive Employment Platform (IEP) session, titled "Skills, Jobs and Access: Youth with Disabilities in the Kurdistan Region," gathering representatives of numerous KRG ministries, international organizations, non-governmental organizations representing persons with disabilities, and members of the private sector with inclusive hiring practices.
The session focused on a draft strategy that the ministry has prepared with technical support from UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, and funded by the Federal Republic of Germany. Spanning 2026–2030, the strategy covers the health, rehabilitation, and education areas concerning persons with disabilities. It also includes refugee and internally displaced (IDPs) children and youth with disabilities.
"Jobs are not only about income; they're about respect, independence, and participating in society for persons with disabilities," the deputy minister said, according to a press release from the ministry.
The employment-related segments of the strategy, such as skills development, transition to work, and accessibility to information and physical infrastructure, were the main themes of the discussions, whose outcome would form a foundation for an "effective implementation," she said.
The session produced immediate priority areas for action, such as more inclusive vocational training centers, strong adherence to inclusive building codes for better accessibility, and more engagement from the private sector in hiring persons with disabilities.
The IEP, chaired by MoLSA and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), seeks to promote inclusive policies for integrating marginalized groups, such as women, refugees, IDPs, and persons with disabilities, into the labor market.