Jobs for people with disabilities

Fair receives overwhelming response

More than 1,000 job seekers and their families flooded a job fair for people with disabilities, held in Beijing on Saturday.

When the fair closed at 1 pm, about 145 candidates were offered interview opportunities, according to statistics released by Beijing Disabled People's Federation, one of the fair's organizers.

Those who failed to land a job interview blamed it on limited options and age discrimination.

About 60 State-run companies participated at the fair starting from 9 am at Beijing Workers' Service Center. Most of the 180 job positions offered are for low-skilled work in the service sector such as security guards and garage supervisors.

Tang Chunmei, one of the fair's organizing committee members, said a record number of more than 1,300 job hunters registered by 10:30 am.

"Most fairs we held attracted a maximum of 600 people, but the fair today was so popular that we had to stop people from coming in," she said.

One of the job seekers, Yan Shiyu, who was hoping to land an accounting-related job, said: "I arrived at about 10 am. There were so many people waiting outside that I was pushed by the crowd to go forward. My feet were stepped on many times."

"I feel a little disappointed after walking around the booths because there is no suitable position for me. I am interested in becoming an operator at a customer service center but the potential employers told me they only want those under the age of 30," said the 39-year-old.

But, she did not go home empty-handed. "Someone from the Disabled People's Federation provided a lot of useful information about the free training programs they run," she said.

Liu Jing, who was accompanied by her mother, managed to pass her resume to a potential employer before noon. The 23-year-old graphic designer said although she graduated more than two years ago, she worked from home as a freelancer as she has difficulties walking after two major cerebral palsy surgeries.

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