"On the other hand, employers are faced with a huge amount of administrative requirements that are difficult to break through if they want to hire a disabled person," SUMSI representatives said at an online round table discussion.
SUMSI president Denis Marijon said that the alliance's three-year programme "Together through challenges" aims at achieving better employability and self-employment of disabled persons on the real and competitive labour market, as well as creating a better image of integration and inclusion of disabled persons.
"Considering the fact that contemporary working methods and new global services are all the more present in our surroundings, and that they offer real opportunities to employ disabled persons... our objective is to focus on that segment of the business sector," said Marijon.
As part of the programme's first year, a series of workshops was held for the disabled, employers who already employ disabled persons as well as employers who plan to hire disabled staff.
"So far more than 60 people have participated in the workshops - disabled people and employers, and we are registering more and more interest every day. That shows that with the programme we have identified what the market needs to achieve greater integration of disabled persons on the labour market," the programme's organiser, Albina Žnidar, said.
The programme's partners include the Social Welfare Centre and the Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb. The programme is financed by the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy.