One-stop centre in Redhill to help disabled people find jobs

The centre will also provide information and referral services, as well as grants and support.
By Chitra Kumar and Tan Shi Wei, Channel NewsAsia, 3 Jul 2014

A one-stop centre to help people with disabilities find jobs will open in Redhill in the second half of next year.

Operated by SG Enable – an agency for people with disabilities – the centre will occupy the 30,000 sq metre space which formerly housed the Employment And Employability Institute, also known as e2i.

It will provide information and referral services, grants and support to people with disabilities and their caregivers. There will be a career centre offering vocational assessment, job placement and support services to people with disabilities as well as potential employers. Courses and on-the-job training will also be conducted at the site.

The public can suggest a name for the centre by taking part in an online contest. Details can be found on SG Enable's Facebook page.

"We will develop this site into a shared space where bonds will be forged, and the people, private and public sectors come together to encourage greater integration and inclusion of persons with disabilities within the community." said Ms Ku Geok Boon, CEO of SG Enable.

"Through the services and infrastructure on this site, we hope to enable persons with disabilities to fulfil their aspirations and pursue independent and dignified lives."

Organisations such as the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) and Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) will also have satellite centres there.

"We hope to co-locate essential and critical services within this location so that it brings greater convenience for persons with disabilities, as well as employers who are looking to hire, looking to pick up skills, pick up ideas on how to train and integrate persons (with disabilities) within the workforce," Ms Ku added.

Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing says the one-stop centre should not just be an exclusive place for persons with disabilities that is divorced from the larger society and community. 

"We do not want to see the community of persons with disabilities as an isolated example at one corner of Bukit Merah without the larger context. We want our persons with disabilities to connect to the wider community just as any other fellow Singaporeans will like to," he said.

37-year-old Edwin Khoo, a braille transcriber, hopes to meet more people and pick up new skills at this centre.

"Hopefully there will be structured programmes and even training opportunities so that we could actually show to employers, potential employers, that (despite) being disabled, we are also well-versed and we could also have the necessary skills to gain rightful employment," Mr Khoo said. 

Special course helps those with disabilities find work
By Priscilla Goy, The Straits Times, 29 Jun 2014

After more than a year of looking for an administrative job, Ms Junaidah Ramli, who was born blind, has still not been able to find one.

Ms Junaidah, who has N levels and worked previously as a telemarketer and receptionist, lost her administrative assistant job 11/2 years ago when her company was restructured.

But the 43-year-old is now more confident of succeeding in her search, after attending a career workshop that catered to disabled job seekers.

She was one of 15 participants in the first run of a three-day course organised last week by SG Enable, an agency which provides services for people with disabilities.

The course, believed to be the only one here open to people of varied disabilities, covered topics such as writing resumes and interview skills.

The agency, which intends to hold the course on a monthly basis, hopes it will improve disabled job seekers' chances of securing jobs and deal with a common problem they face - low self-esteem.

The course was conducted by two trainers: Ms Lim Lee Lee, who lost her eyesight when she was an infant, and Mr Rupert Gan.

Mr Gan said such a course is important for job seekers with disabilities.

"I think many of them are good workers, but they are not good interviewees... They are not sure if they should highlight their disabilities to employers, or how to bring that point across," he said.

Ms Lim, who has held jobs in financial planning and public relations, advised participants to be truthful when filling up application forms.

She encouraged them to be willing to try despite the challenges they may face, treating every job offer as a "stepping stone" even if they do not get their first choice, instead of giving up.

Asked if it may be better for job seekers to have more personalised help, as offered by some organisations such as Bizlink, Mr Gan said there are benefits from learning in a group.

There is sharing of information among classmates, and "most importantly, the feeling that they are not alone".

After the course, trainees will each have a job coach from SG Enable to help them in their search and to settle in at work, he said. The course at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Paya Lebar is free.

After the course last week, Ms Junaidah told The Sunday Times: "It was my first time having a mock interview practice, and I think I won't be as nervous in future."

More office jobs available to the disabled
Growing awareness among employers of these workers' capabilities, say firms
By Priscilla Goy, The Sunday Times, 29 Jun 2014

More job positions in offices - beyond the usual food outlets or hotels - have been available for the disabled in recent years.

In the first half of this year, 39 per cent of the 188 job openings from the companies that government-established agency SG Enable works with were "office-environment jobs".

These included positions for professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), according to figures obtained by The Sunday Times. This is an increase from 31 per cent last year and 26 per cent in 2012.

Companies said this trend could be due to more employers being aware of disabled workers' capabilities.

Safety training firm Absolute Kinetics Consultancy hires five employees with disabilities.

They include a deaf person, who joined as an accounts manager four years ago and is now the company's group financial controller, and a physically disabled graphic designer.

Mr Alvin Yap, the firm's head of human resource and corporate communications, said more employers recognise that disabled staff can still contribute despite their limitations and do so in various industries and in office environments.

"Workers with disabilities can be well-educated and experienced too, and companies are missing out if they don't tap this workforce."

Ms Chua Siew Ling, director of Synergy One Corporate Services, agreed. Her company hired a speech-impaired accounts executive last year. Ms Chua said: "Some disabled employees have a lot of work experience, before they acquired a disability later in life. They are highly qualified and can still do well in PME positions."

To help disabled job seekers better secure opportunities, SG Enable has started a career workshop covering topics such as interview skills and resume writing.

Course trainer Rupert Gan said being equipped with interview techniques is particularly important when applying for PME positions "which test your cognitive abilities", compared with blue-collar positions where employers may focus more on testing a person's manual abilities.

Meanwhile, many job positions such as kitchen helpers and hotel housekeepers are still available.

About 37 per cent of the job openings this year from the 74 companies SG Enable works with were in the food and beverage (F&B) and hospitality industries.

The agency also gave The Sunday Times a breakdown of the type of employers offering jobs to the disabled.

Most of the 188 job openings this year were in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which offered 64 per cent of the jobs.

About a quarter were in multinational corporations, while the rest were in government-linked companies.

Mr Kurt Wee, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said more SMEs have been willing to redesign jobs to attract senior citizens and the disabled amid the labour shortage.

"It is a good sign that companies are trying to be more resourceful and tapping into different pockets of the labour pool," he said.

Disabled workers as good as everyone else

WE ARE heartened that companies are more forthcoming in employing persons with disabilities ("More office jobs available to the disabled"; Sunday).

Persons with disabilities are under-tapped talent that companies could engage to meet their manpower needs. They may have physical or sensory limitations, but many are cognitively capable. Many want, and are able, to contribute to society.

Given the opportunities, training and job accommodation support such as assistive technology, restructuring of job functions and workplace adjustments, they can perform effectively just like everyone else.

Job accommodation support can be simple and not necessarily excessive.

It is crucial that employers communicate with staff who have disabilities on the adjustments required, depending on their abilities and limitations.

There are programmes available to help gear persons with disabilities for employment.

For example, the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) provides vocational training such as that offered by our Infocomm Accessibility Centre certificate in office skills to equip persons with disabilities with the necessary computer skills for office jobs.

The SPD's Sheltered Workshop also offers trainees on-the-job training such as data entry, scanning and telemarketing, among other skills.

A new programme called the Transition Programme for Employment also provides those who have stroke or spinal cord injuries with active rehabilitation, work readiness training and employment support, to prepare them for their return to the workforce.

These programmes aside, it is important that society be receptive to employing persons with disabilities.

Some employers may be hesitant to hire them because of misperceptions that they are incapable or often need more assistance than other workers.

The truth is that many have abilities and, with reasonable job accommodation, can be as effective and productive as everyone else.

There is a need for greater awareness to correct such misperceptions and to encourage more companies to employ people with disabilities, taking us a step towards becoming a truly inclusive nation.

Employers who are interested to know how people with disabilities and their potential employers can be supported to facilitate successful hiring and job accommodation can contact our employment support team.

Abhimanyau Pal
Executive Director
Society for the Physically Disabled
ST Forum, 5 Jul 2014

Post by NCSS Singapore.

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