Employers in Moldova who recruit people with disabilities benefit from state subsidies. Through such public policies, the state encourages companies to hire people with special needs and to ensure that they have access to an inclusive work environment where they can fulfil their potential and abilities. Experts welcome such practices, but recommend linking subsidies with measures to improve access to vocational training for people with disabilities to facilitate employment. The 75-square-metre canteen in the centre of the village of Razeni, Ialoveni district, prepares dishes that go to various events around the country. The professional cooks are helped by several young disabled people from the same village. Among them we met Irina Nepotu, a 31-year-old with cerebral palsy. But her disability has not prevented her from getting a job. For seven years, Irina has been working at "Floare de cireș", a catering social enterprise in Chisinau that has created jobs for people with disabilities in the village of Razeni. Colleagues praise Irina for making the tastiest noodles, and she says the secret is in her dedication to work. "I completed nine classes at a boarding school in Chisinau, and after graduating from secondary school, I stayed at home. I'm glad I managed to get a job here and get a trade. Here I have a decent salary and I get along well with my colleagues, from whom I learned to make different dishes", says Irina. She has a dream: to build a small house with the money she earns here. The youngest employee is 26-year-old Petrică Rîșneanu, also disabled. For four months, he has been learning the secrets of being an auxiliary cook at Cherry Blossom, and now makes various dishes for 30 elderly people in the village, who receive free hot lunches three times a week from the welfare canteen. "I know that the borscht I make is food for the elderly and I always strive to make it tasty. When we go and take food to the elders, I take pride in the fact that they eat food I make. I'm happy that I have a job and can make my own money and help my parents," says Petrică. Sergiu Gurău: "By our example we want to inspire others" There are currently 25 employees at Cherry Blossom, and 11 of them have varying degrees of disability. Sergiu Gurău, the executive director of Eco-Răzeni, founder of the Cherry Blossom Ltd, recalls that when he set out to open a social enterprise and create jobs for people with disabilities, he was afraid he would fail, but he was supported by both the authorities and donors. Now he is proud to have succeeded in implementing this social project. Sergiu says that in 2019 he received a monthly subsidy for employing an unemployed person with a disability: "Through our example we want to inspire others. Even if companies can't hire such people, they can benefit from our catering services. This way, they will know that they have contributed to supporting a company that has employed people with disabilities". As of 2019, employers who employ people with disabilities can benefit from two types of subsidies. The first subsidy is for hiring a person with a disability and the second is offered for job creation and adaptation. According to the Law on Employment Promotion and Unemployment Insurance, subsidies can be granted to persons with disabilities who meet two conditions: they are registered as unemployed with the territorial employment structure and are employed for an indefinite or fixed period of at least 18 months. For each employee, employers receive monthly subsidies for six months in an amount equal to 30% of the average monthly salary on the economy for the previous year (n.r. for 2019, the average monthly salary on the economy was 6,975 lei). The second type of subsidy, which the employer can receive, is for the creation or adaptation of conditions in the workplace, when employing a person with disabilities. The National Agency for Employment (ANOFM) compensates 50% of the costs of creating or adapting the workplace in the case of hiring people with average disabilities and 75% - in the case of hiring people with marked and severe disabilities. The size of the subsidy may not exceed the amount of 10 average monthly wages in the economy for the previous year for each job created or adapted. So an employer who has created conditions in the workplace can receive up to 69,000 lei. Even so, few employers apply for state support. In its Annual Report for 2019, ANOFM mentions that last year 17 economic agents who employed people with disabilities received this type of subsidy, and two other companies received one-off subsidies for having created or adapted jobs. Subsidies for employing people with disabilities are welcome measures Ion Cibotărică, a legal expert at the Centre for the Rights of People with Disabilities, says that subsidies for employing people with disabilities are a welcome and expected public policy measure. However, he recommends that these measures be linked to measures to ensure access to vocational training for people with disabilities. "When making the decision to employ a person with a disability, it is not the size of the subsidy that matters to employers, but the professional training of the candidates, that the employee meets the professional requirements of the job," concluded I. Cibotărică. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, there are 176,000 people with disabilities in Moldova (6.57% of the population), of which 165,000 are adults with disabilities. And during 2019, 600 people with disabilities were registered as unemployed (1.9% of the total registered unemployed). Mariana Jacot