ELEVEN members of the Down Syndrome Care Centre in Manama are receiving on-site job training at Alosra Supermarket, in a ‘first-of-its-kind project in the Arab world’.
The trainees, who began their work placement at Alosra on July 10, are involved in a wide scope of work including placing products on shelves, restocking, labelling, packing, arranging FIFO (first in first out) and more.
Working with the Alosra team on the shop floor, the trainees are guided by a number of specialised supervisors from the centre.
The training is part of the centre’s specialised comprehensive curriculum for members with Down Syndrome that aims to educate, train, and qualify trainees to be well integrated into the labour force.
The initiative falls under Alosra’s support for diverse populations of the community and its CSR initiatives that include a focus on education, well-being, and community development.
“Alosra’s longstanding commitment to responsibility and community involvement has always been at the core of its business,” corporate communications and CSR manager May Al Mousawi said.
“We are always seeking and supporting initiatives that offer sustainable ways to make a difference to the community, and that is why education and training are some of our CSR focus points,” she said.
“Alosra supermarket has always been eager to support the development, growth, and integration of the diverse segments of Bahrain’s population that we serve every day.
“We are honoured at the opportunity to provide workplace training experience to the 11 hard-working trainees from the Down Syndrome Care Centre,” she added.
It was in 2017 that Alosra was selected as the first business to participate in the Employment Facilitation Training Service Programme (EFTS) led by the Bahrain Society for Children with Behavioural and Communication Difficulties, Tamkeen and Project Search.
Under the programme, 14 trainees who fall under the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) received valuable training experience at the supermarket.
“As a Bahraini supermarket, we consider providing support to the local community in various forms to be a cornerstone of the way we operate,” director Ayachi Jomaa said.
“Since Alosra’s launch in 1987, we have seen our role as not only providing the population with the products and services they love, but also lending a helping hand whenever and wherever we can.
“We are particularly grateful for the opportunity to support these young trainees to gain experience at Alosra that will help grow and help them in their future careers,” Mr Jomaa said.
The centre’s executive director Ahmed Al Ali said the partnership with Alosra helps expand employment opportunities for individuals with Down Syndrome to occupy various possible positions.
“This project is the first-of-its-kind in the Arab world, as previous employment projects for people with disabilities focused on employment in simple categories such as carpentry, agriculture and plumbing.
“This new project presents a new vision that achieves the principle of participation for all segments of society and opens the possible hope for employment in various jobs that suit their abilities.
“We are very thankful to Alosra Supermarket for eagerly accepting our trainees into their stores,” he added.
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