Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) and the Community Development Authority in Dubai (CDA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to empower and integrate people with disabilities into the mainstream.

The MoU provides a framework for providing people with disabilities, identified by CDA, with a unique opportunity to acquire critical professional skills and prepare them to join the workforce at Enoc Group.

Enoc and CDA will work together to achieve this through their key programmes, Challenge and Elkayt, that have been designed especially for people with disabilities to develop their social and professional skills.

“Enoc is committed to working towards meaningful social change in line with our corporate social responsibility philosophy,” said Khalid Hadi, Enoc Group brand and marketing manager.

“Integrating people with special needs into the mainstream is one of our goals, and we have already unveiled several initiatives to achieve this. The partnership with CDA further highlights our dedication to strengthen public private partnerships that can enhance overall socio-economic welfare,” he added.

Sheikh Maktoum Bin Butti Al Maktoum, CEO – Social Care at CDA, said: “We believe that empowering people with disabilities is one of the most important duties of all cross-sections of the society including the governmental and private sectors.”

“This segment of society should be treated like the rest of the community and we should make use of their capabilities especially that they have proven to show remarkable potential in the workplace when given the chance.”

“Not only does the ElKayt programme provide job opportunities for people with disabilities, but it also extends to rehabilitation and training, mentoring and developing the skills that contribute to personal and professional development,” added Sheikh Maktoum.

Enoc and all of its subsidiaries uphold the highest standards of corporate social responsibility and support practices and activities that target all segments of society.

Enoc also recently launched a training programme for 15 special needs youngsters, Enoc Challenge IV, which offers experience in business and commerce. – TradeArabia News Service