A training program to teach sign language to human resource employees so that they will be able to communicate with deaf colleagues begins today at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). The program, the first of many which eventually aims to train 1,500 public and private sector employees in the use of sign language, is the result of an agreement recently signed by the Deaf Club of Jeddah and the Human Resources Development Fund. The agreement, signed under the patronage of Prince Misha'al Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, has as its objective integrating the deaf into the workforce by providing them jobs in both the government and private sectors. The agreement was signed by Ahmed Al-Mansour Al-Zamel, General Director of the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf), and Mohammad Abdullah Abu Madra, Director of the Deaf Club, in the presence of Hani Abu Ras, General Secretary of the Jeddah Chamber, and Hesham Allenjawi, General Director of the Fund. Abu Madra said that more than 267 male and female hearing impaired personnel have been employed under the guidance of Prince Misha'al, adding that “it is expected that 1,500 human resource workers will be trained in order to serve the special needs of deaf employees”. He said that the program is sponsored by the Jeddah Chamber and that JCCI member Dr. Aisha Natto will help find jobs for those who are hearing impaired. According to Natto, the Kingdom has around 750,000 deaf people who need to be understood by their community.
