More mechanisms should be created to help Vietnam\'s 5 million disabled people access job training to make sure they fully benefit from the new Law on People with Disabilities.

More training opportunites are sought for 5 million disabled people.

Disabled people make up 6.34 per cent of Vietnam\'s population.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has asked ministries, organis-ations and individuals to make contributions to the draft decree, which is used to fine tune the law.

Nguyen Xuan Lap, deputy director of the ministry\'s General Department of Social Protection, said those drafting the decree would clarify support policies for the disabled and enterprises that employed them.

According to the ministry, about 2.5 per cent of the disabled had access to job training classes, but only 16,000 had permanent jobs.

Dang Van Thanh, vice-chairman of the Vietnam Association of Business and Enterprises for Persons with Disabilities, said the decree should refer to particular support available during training courses.

He said it should also raise the monthly support for disabled apprentices, which has remained at VND540,000 since 2005.

Thanh said it was also necessary to create clear procedures to enable enterprises that employed handicapped people or were owned by handicapped people to access preferential loans and learn how to reduce tax or make themselves tax exempt.

According to Government decree ND81/CP passed in 1995, the number of disabled employees in larger enterprise should amount to 2-3 per cent of total employees. If not, they are compelled to pay money to fund to create jobs for the disabled run by the local Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs departments. However, at present, the fund is accessible in only about 10 cities and provinces.

Thanh said measures were needed to speed up the establishment and operation of the fund throughout the whole country.

"The most important thing now is enforcement of the new law," said Nguyen Thao Van, human resources manager of the Ha Noi-based Nghi Luc Song Training Centre. She is also disabled.

Van said that although the State regulated support for the disabled during their apprenticeships, most apprentices received no support, so they and their families had to manage by themselves.

She also recommended opening more training classes for the disabled. "The graduation certificates, granted at secondary school, do help them access better jobs besides the occupation certificate they earn at the centre," Van said.

Since 2008, the centre has trained about 700 disabled people about computing and English, 30 per cent of them found jobs with payment of VND3-4 million (US$150-200).

She said this proved the effectiveness of the centre\'s training model as well as the disabled\'s ability to meet higher work requirements and not just be hired to do manual work, such as handicrafts.

The draft decree consist of four chapters covering regulations on the types of disabilities, levels of disabilities - and support in education, work and social welfare.

The draft proposed to increase monthly support for handicapped children and elders unable to look after themselves from VND180,000 to VND450,000 ($10-23). Those who take care of them will be given VND270,000 ($13).

The Law on People with Disabilities was approved in June and will take effect next year. It replaces another law framed in 1998.