Oral Answer to PQ on Number of persons with Disabilities supported by Employment and Employability Institute (E2I)
NOTICE PAPER NO. 2528 OF 2024 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 7 FEB 2024
QUESTION NO. 5629 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Mr Darryl David
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has data on how many Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) have applied for jobs through the Employment and Employability Institute in the last five years; (b) how many of these PwDs successfully found employment that lasted more than six months; and (c) whether the Government has a strategy for the public and private sectors to enhance employment opportunities for PwDs.
Answer:
Persons with disabilities can tap on broad-based employment facilitation services, such as job matching and career advisory services provided by Workforce Singapore and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), or customised job placement and job support services under the Open Door Programme,. Workforce Singapore and NTUC’s e2i do not track whether jobseekers assisted have disabilities.
2. Under the Open Door Programme , SG Enable works with several job placement and job support partners such as Autism Resource Centre, Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore and SPD. These partners provide coaches who are trained to assist persons with disabilities with their job search and provide post-placement on-site support to help these jobseekers adjust into their new roles. The job coaches also advise employers on adapting job tasks and the work environment to better suit the needs of employees with disabilities. On average, about 900 jobseekers with disabilities were assisted each year by SG Enable’s job placement and job support partners between 2018 and 2022. Each year, about 500 were successfully placed into jobs. More than 80% of them remained in employment for at least six months.
3. The Enabling Masterplan 2030, which was co-developed by the Government, businesses and the community, sets out Singapore’s aspirational goal of 40% employment rate for persons with disabilities by 2030. To enhance employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, we aim to increase their employability and grow the number of inclusive employers through a whole-of-society effort.
4. Employers and community partners, such as disability social service agencies, play a key role in supporting the employment of persons with disabilities. This includes training, sharing best practices and implementing inclusive hiring at the workplace. The Government will work with partners to equip persons with disabilities with skills that enable them to take on employment opportunities. For example, SkillsFuture Singapore provides additional course fee subsidies for persons with disabilities and is working with SG Enable to develop curricula in inclusive pedagogies. We also provide support to inclusive employers through grants and support services such as the Enabling Employment Credit.
5. We encourage employers to approach SG Enable and to tap on the ODP and other employment support services to hire, train and integrate persons with disabilities into their organisations.