Job-Hunting Here and There, Visually Impaired Jobseekers: Are There Vacancies for Us?

Jakarta, KOMPAS.com — A number of visually impaired people attended the Jakarta Job Fair at Gelanggang Remaja Jakarta Utara (GRJU) in Tanjung Priok on Tuesday, 19 May 2026, in hopes of finding employment opportunities open to people with disabilities.

One of them is Dadang, 45, a visually impaired resident of West Jakarta, who travelled to the venue alone by TransJakarta.

Previously, Dadang worked as a telemarketer at a private bank.

‘I ended at the end of December 2025. They said there would be a downsizing,’ he said.

Since then, he says he has struggled to find a new job.

‘For job fairs, I have attended many. I started with the mayors, going from one to another. But it seems for people with disabilities it’s not enough,’ he told Kompas.com on Tuesday 19 May 2026.

He said he had previously attended job fairs in West Jakarta and South Jakarta.

‘From West Jakarta it’s the same story—they say there are no jobs for disabled people. Then I moved to South Jakarta; same story. And this is the North area—this is the third mayor’s office I’ve visited,’ Dadang said.

Dadang hopes the government can broaden employment opportunities for people with disabilities, through job fairs or other programmes.

‘My hope is that the DKI Jakarta government will create job vacancies for people with disabilities. Disability isn’t to be pitied; it’s about giving equal opportunities to work as well,’ he said.

‘That’s why I came here—to see whether there are vacancies for people with disabilities. But so far there has been no confirmation,’ he added.

After spending some time inside the job fair area, Kompas.com spoke again to Fandi. He said he had not yet found a vacancy suitable for a visually impaired person like himself.