Different Thinking Podcast S2E08 with Hamid Ibrahimi

Hamid Ibrahimi about his visual impairment and his job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Anders Denken Podcast S02E08

In our latest Anders Denken Podcast, host Cis Hageman discusses with Hamid Ibrahimi how his position as Job Participation Advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came about, what he strives for within his job and how he does this with his visual impairment.

Every day Ibrahimi deals with people with disabilities and how they can be employed in a sustainable way at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also gives solicited and unsolicited advice to various departments, and what exactly is involved in hiring and especially keeping people with disabilities employed:

"We have a quota from the government to create 125,000 jobs for people with labor disabilities until 2025, because too many of these people are sitting at home. I mainly focus on the people who have a target group indication from the UWV, which means they have a demonstrable disability. This entitles them to certain facilities, making it easier for an employer to hire candidates because of schemes, subsidies and the like."

Ibrahimi always does his best to make such a placement a success: "I make sure departments are aware of what adjustments, if any, are needed, what needs to be taken into account. Sometimes a fixed workplace is needed or certain aids are required. I give things like that to the departments so they know where they stand, so the placement can be a success."

Another way to make such a placement successful, Ibrahimi does through "jobcrafting": "Normally you have a position that applicants respond to, and then you choose the best one. With jobcrafting, we actually reverse that process. I look at a candidate, and then see what kind of job fits that candidate. That's how we 'craft' the perfect workplace for the candidate."