Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) and the Community Development Authority in Dubai (CDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to empower and integrate people with disabilities into the mainstream.
Sheikh Maktoum Bin Butti Al Maktoum, CEO – Social Care at CDA, and Khalid Hadi, ENOC Group Brand and Marketing Manager, signed the agreement at a ceremony held recently at ENOC headquarters.
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, making them an active part of the UAE community.
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.
Khalid Hadi said: "ENOC is committed to working towards meaningful social change in line with our corporate social responsibility philosophy. 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."
"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. Based on that belief, CDA works to establish strategic partnerships with many governmental and private institutions to launch initiatives that aim at empowering people with disabilities," said Sheikh Maktoum Bin Butti Al Maktoum.
"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 recently launched a training programme for 15 special needs youngsters, 'ENOC Challenge IV'.
The annual comprehensive training programme provides the participants with the opportunity to gain experience in today's business and commerce, as well as prepare them for employment in various industries.
