Telenor welcomes new participants in the Open Mind program for people with disabilities

Four new employees started their new job at Telenor as part of the career development Open Mind program for people with disabilities. This was the official start of the program’s fifth edition.

Attending the official event was the Chief Executive Officer of Telenor Bulgaria Jason King. Guests to the event were Joana Koleva from the NGO JAMBA which helps people with diverse abilities to be included in the job market and the Chief Secretary of the “National Employment Agency” Angel Angelov.

The Open Mind program gives people with disabilities the opportunity to develop their social and functional skills and to raise their competitiveness and qualification by working in the company. The new program participants will be part of teams in the Telenor Marketing, Finances, and People & Culture divisions. In the next two years they will work on real projects in Telenor and the company will provide them with open and accessible environment and equal remuneration package, corresponding to their positions.

During this time the participants will have the opportunity to gather experience and to learn from Telenor’s best professionals, which will help them gather confidence for their future career development. After the program, Telenor will support the participants for their further professional development on the labor market and some of them may also receive an offer for a job in the company.

This year Telenor again expands the scope of the program by inviting representatives of other responsible companies to a workshop for sharing experience in executing such initiatives. The telecom also plans to provide free professional development trainings for the Open Mind candidates, even if they weren’t hired.

“I am happy that the Open Mind program keeps its sustainable development and brings positive change for the company and its employees but also for society. My honest believe that the real success for the program will be when we reach the point when Open Mind won’t be necessary anymore”, said Telenor CEO Jason King commented.

Telenor Bulgaria’s program for people with disabilities is held annually as part of the company’s long-term corporate responsibility strategy. In the editions so far, 17 participants joined the company as part of Process Management, Legal Affairs, People & Culture, Marketing and other divisions. Of all participants so far, five stayed on permanent contracts with Telenor Bulgaria after the end of the program.