SPD Helping More People with Disabilities Secure Jobs

More resources and funding provided by the Government in the last two years, along with employers being more willing and open to accept people with special needs in their workforce, [...]

More resources and funding provided by the Government in the last two years, along with employers being more willing and open to accept people with special needs in their workforce, has enabled SPD to help more persons with disabilities find open employment.

Compared to 177 job seekers with disabilities that SPD’s Employment Support Programme (ESP) served in FY2013/2014, the number doubled to 305 the following year with more than three times more applicants securing employment.

The efforts of the SG Enable and placement agencies such as SPD’s ESP to reach out to employers has contributed to more companies opening up to hiring people with disabilities.

Local companies including small and medium enterprises make up 70 per cent of our partners today. However, we are seeing a more diverse group of employers opening up to engaging a more diverse workforce. They include Government agencies, multinational companies and social enterprises.

The process of placing people with disabilities in employment can be a long drawn one. It begins with understanding the needs of the employers and matching them with the skill set of job seekers with disabilities. Our job placement officers also help prepare the job seekers for interviews and work with other SPD support staff to ensure that job accommodation needs and psycho‐social support for the clients are available.

We hope to be able to integrate more persons with disabilities into the mainstream workforce. To achieve our goal, there is a need to educate the general public to recognise that people with disabilities can work efficiently if given the opportunities, training and job accommodation support such as assistive technology, job modification and job redesign.

“We have heard from companies which hire persons with disabilities saying that it makes business sense for them to hire persons with disabilities for jobs they are able to perform. Beyond benefiting their companies and the employees with disabilities, it creates a win-win situation for the whole community,” said Mr Abhimanyau Pal, Executive Director, SPD.

“With a job, persons with disabilities could contribute to the economy and consequently reduce reliance on social welfare.”

If you are a business owner and open to hiring people with disabilities, do visit our website for more information.