briefly-employment

BRIEFLY/EMPLOYMENT

Microsoft leads new push to hire disabled: The nation's economic boom may have pushed the overall unemployment rate to historic lows, but 71 percent of job seekers with disabilities still can't find work.Now Microsoft is leading a campaign to turn that statistic around, by asking corporations to recruit and hire more disabled workers. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced the "Able to Work" at the company's Redmond headquarters, where the National Business and Disability Council held its 1999 annual conference. Microsoft has assembled 20 companies to join in the effort, including Washington Mutual, Safeco, Bank of America, AT& T Wireless and Medtronics Physio-Control. While the companies have not pledged to hire specific numbers of disabled workers, each will participate in a one-year pilot internship program in which some disabled recruits will be provided specially designed work spaces. The companies will also set up a Web site for employers interested in recruiting disabled job candidates.

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BRIEFLY/EMPLOYMENT

Working Quads: "Working Quads" is a Research Association on Work for Persons with Severe Disabilities in Japan. The objective of this group is to enable quadriplegics and other substantively disabled Japanese to undertake intellectually challenging labor through computer technology and attendant services. In April 1999 the group held a conference in Fukuoka and Kumamoto. During the same year, the Soroptimist Japan Foundation gave Working Quads its award for substantial contributions to improvement of social welfare. Kazuo Seike, is the President of the Association and the managing editor for "Working Quads" HomePage, and can be contacted at: 1-4-605 Ohtemon Chuoh-ku Fukuoka-shi 810-0074, Japan; Tel +81-92-735-1133; Fax +81-92-735-1134;
Email: kazuo_seike@msn.com ;
WEB information: http://www4.justnet.ne.jp/~seike/
http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand-Suzuran/4147
http://www4.justnet.ne.jp/~seike/WELCOME.HTM
Photo address:
http://www4.justnet.ne.jp/~seike/00usa/usa200/mp/014.htm

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BRIEFLY/EMPLOYMENT

Ugandan Women with disabilities to Get Loans: The national union of disabled people in Uganda (NUDIPU) has established a loan scheme for women with disabilities. NUDIPU trainer Fred Musulo discussed the project during a five-day Start Your Business (SYB) workshop Oct. 22-24 at Masaka Redd Barna Headquarters. The workshop was aimed at empowering disabled women with business skills. Musulu said, the workshop enabled women to use their loans properly and later refund the money to NUDIPU so that it then revolves to other people with disabilities.

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BRIEFLY/EMPLOYMENT

Workforce Integration in Central America

"Integration of Persons with Disabilities into the Productive Workforce (in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama)", is a report prepared in September 1997, for the Inter-American Development Bank by the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL). Available, in English and Spanish, from CACL -Kinsmen Building, York University, 4700 Keele St., North York, Ontario M3J 1P3 Canada. Tel. 1(416)661-9611; Fax. 1(416)661-577701; email: info@cacl.ca.

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BRIEFLY/EMPLOYMENT

Supported Employment Listserv in Spanish

A new listserv in Spanish, called ECA is focused on Supported Employment for people with disabilities. This listserv intends to be a forum for discussion and interaction among professionals and researchers. To participate, contact the administrator of the list: Borja Jordan of Urries Vega, Academic Institute of Community Integration (INICO) - University of Salamanca, Spanish Association of Supported Employment (AESE), Salamanca, Spain. Tel. +34 923 294617; Fax: +34 923 294685. Email: bjordan@gugu.usal.es; Website: www.usal.es/inico/inico.html

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