Disability/Employment
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Contents
- 1 Overview
- 2 Key Statistics & Figures
- 3 Theory of Change
- 4 Areas of Needs / Desired Outcomes
- 5 Discussion on Employment Quota
Overview
Summary
- Singapore’s PWD employment rate is at among the lowest in developed societies.
- [to insert]
Knowledge Gaps
- There is currently no representative statistic for number of disabled people in Singapore → to watch 2020 population census (n = 150,000).
- There is no knowledge of retention rates/duration of disabled people in their various jobs.
Actionable Opportunity Areas
- [to insert]
- [to insert]
Key Statistics & Figures
Numbers of PWDs who can potentially enter workforce
- Close to 176,000 disabled people are of working age.
Employment Rate of PWDs
- According to The Straits Times, five in 100 disabled people are estimated to be employed.
- Persons with disabilities comprised about 0.55% of the resident labour force.
- The Government has noted that three in 10 PWDs aged 15 to 64 are in employment.
- Breakdown of employment rates in the group:
- 27.6 per cent for those aged 15 to 39
- 37.8 per cent for those between 40 and 49
- 26.1 per cent for those between 50 and 64
- 5.9 per cent for those who are 65 and older.
- Breakdown of employment rates in the group:
- 8,600 estimated to be employed in the public and private sector in 2017.[1]
Where are they hired? How much are they paid?
- The sectors employing most of these people are community, social and personal services, food services, administrative and support services, and manufacturing. Together, they account for more than half of workers with disabilities.[2]
- Most go into hospitality, F&B, wholesale and retail/admin support, with a median monthly income of $1,000 - $2,800.
- SG Enable has placed more than 1,200 PWDs in jobs within the past three years, in the retail, F&B, IT and other sectors.
Theory of Change
- The TOC can be articulated this way: If employers are willing and able to hire, PWDs are work ready, and they are well-matched to one another, then PWDs will be able to secure jobs. But securing jobs is only the first step, and there should be fair treatment and career development for PWDs.
- Put a different way, we can also say: In order for PWDs to secure jobs and have career development, there are 3 key strategic thrusts: 1) Employer engagement, 2) PWD training and 3) Job Matching.
Programmes | Areas of Needs / Desired Outcomes | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Information, Dialogues, Awareness Training | → | Employers understand PWD capabilities | ↘ | |||||
TAFEP | → | Employers know how to make workplace accommodations | → | Employers are willing & able to hire | ↘ | |||
Financial subsidies | → | Employers find it financially feasible to hire | ↗ | |||||
Job matching & job support | Employers & PWDs are matched | ↘ | ||||||
[Quota hiring?] | PWDs secure jobs | ↘ | ||||||
Vocational Training | PWDs are work ready | ↗ | ||||||
Employment protections
[Anti-discrimination legislation?] |
Fair treatment & career development |
Areas of Needs / Desired Outcomes
Employers understand and value PWD capabilities
- Desired Outcomes: [To insert]
- Synopsis: [To insert]
- Resources:
- CNA podcast (10 May 2019) on whether Singapore uses Charity lens when supporting employment for people with disabilities
- [To insert]
Programmes | Gaps | Ideas |
Information & Resources
|
Employer’s misconceptions and false assumptions about the abilities of those with disabilities (only a handful of them are educated in SPED schools and do not have the necessary skills and credentials to obtain high-wage, high-skill jobs) [Need evidence]
Limited effectiveness because it is hard to change employers' attitudes[3] |
Public education campaigns highlighting the strengths and abilities of those with disabilities and more career fairs for PWDs |
Dialogues, Seminars & Networks
|
Can there be more opportunities to dialogue with employers or partners such as WSG/MOM, such that the process may be more institutionalised/supported? | |
Awareness Training
Disability education for employers and co-workers of PWDs
|
PWDs continue to face discrimination by colleagues in the workplace: see 2015 study by DPA & IPS done via participatory research | [See if any of these can be 'Actionable Opportunity Areas', and if so insert above]
|
Information & Resources
Dialogues, Seminars & Networks
- Inclusive Business Forum (IBF) and “Fostering Inclusion At The Workplace” Seminar
- Inaugural IBF held in 2016 , second round on 25 Jul 2018
- Inaugural seminar held in 2017
- Inform businesses of the benefits of hiring PWDs and encourage more employers to hire PWDs
- Singapore Business Network on Disability
- Community of businesses in Singapore across various industries who work in collaboration to share (as appropriate) expertise, experience, networks and resources to help advance the equitable inclusion of persons with disabilities
- Started in May 2015 with AIG, Barclays, Dairy Farm, Deutsche Bank, EY, KPMG, Singtel, Standard Chartered
Awareness Training
- DPA Disability Awareness Talks
- Society Staples training for employers
- SPD Disability Etiquette Talks
- APSN Employer Education Workshops
Employers know how to make workplace accommodations
Programmes | Gaps | Ideas |
SG Enable-hosted Employer Resources
|
Companies and their HR remain non-diversity ready [need data/evidence]
[Anecdotal evidence by an in-service professional of more than 10 years - key comments that he always gets from employers: 1. "We don't know how to manage his/her behaviours or risk harm to himself/herself and others" 2. "Our staff is fearful and not very confident in working with them” 3. "What should we say or do when this or that situation happens"] |
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Singapore Business Network on Disability
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Disability education training for employers and co-workers of PWDs
|
PWDs continue to face discrimination in the workplace: see 2015 study by DPA and this DPA-IPS 2016-2017 participatory research |
|
Employers find it financially feasible to hire
Programmes | Gaps | Ideas |
Enabling Employment Credit (EEC) - Announced but not yet in place
|
This EEC "carries the implication that disabled people are limited to taking up lower-paid jobs" when in reality" more disabled people are obtaining degrees and striving for professionals, managers and executive roles" - thus "some employers may only consider hiring a disabled person to fill a lower-paid position but not a higher-paid one". (by Jonathan Tiong) | Abolish the $4,000 monthly salary cap |
Special Employment Credit (SEC)
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Open Door Programme
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Takeup rate is low, and many employers don’t know about the ODP despite its attractiveness.
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Workfare Training Support (WTS) Scheme
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Accessing SkillsFuture training courses remain difficult for some. A blind individual with a Master’s degree in counselling called SG Enable asking for help to navigate available subsidies for training such as the WTS, but she was offered Sheltered Workshop training instead. [Need more data] |
Employers & People with Disabilities are Matched
Assessment & matching
Ideally: PWDs understand their suitability for jobs and employers understand implications of hiring specific candidate
Vocational Assessment & Advisory
Programmes | Gaps | Ideas |
BizLink Vocational Assessment Service
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ABLE Return to Work Programme
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ARC Employability & Employment Centre (E2C) Programme
|
An individual with autism received vocational assistance from ARC; he paid $494 (after subsidy) for the vocational assessment but was deemed unemployable, yet managed to secure a job later at Dignity Kitchen.
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SG Enable — Job Advisory
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Job Search & Placement
Job placement and job support services can be linkedin to mainstream job agencies to access larger network of potential employers?
Programmes | Gaps | Ideas |
SG Enable - Job Advisory
|
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SG Enable — Disability Employment Jobs Portal
|
Jobs listed on most job portals do not reflect if the hiring company is interested to employ PWDs. Career events are not always universally designed as well. | Employers can reflect if they are keen to employ PWDs, at career events, on job portals and other avenues.
Having a “ready-to-hire PWDs” mark would ease PWDs’ job search process. |
ABLE Return to Work Programme
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BizLink Vocational Assessment Service
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SPD Employment Support Programme (ESP)
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SPD Transition To Employment Programme (TTE)
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ARC Employability & Employment Centre (E2C) Programme
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MINDS Employment Development Centres (EDCs)
Provides vocational training for adults with intellectual disabilities aged 18 and above: |
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Public Service Career Placement (PSCP) Programme
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PWDs are work ready
- PWDs with the requisite skills may not be able to apply it in work settings, or have adequate social and soft skills.
- Government is looking to set up employment centres in residential neighbourhoods to train and offer jobs to PWDs - consider using HDB void decks or unwanted public buildings as training venues
Programmes | Gaps | Ideas |
CV Clinics by Singapore Business Network on Disability
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IHL Internship Programme
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School-to-Work Transition Programme (S2W)
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ABLE Return to Work Programme
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ARC Employability & Employment Centre (E2C) Programme
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SPD Employment Support Programme (ESP)
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Hospital-to-Work Programme
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SPD Transition To Employment Programme (TTE)
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Job coaches face difficulties in providing psychosocial support for those with acquired disabilities. Some PWDs have difficulty accepting their disabilities and the job coaches are not trained to provide psychosocial support to address these issues. | |
Sheltered Workshops
|
PWDs secure jobs
- Study by Kathy Charmaz on workplace disclosures, for reference [This study is about disclosure of disabilities to employers, can also cite DPA's discrimination at work study]
Fair Treatment & Career Development
Aware of fair employment practices, can seek recourse or have protections against discrimination and other unfair work practices
- Government favours promotional and educational approach; Laws may adversely affect businesses; Government wants to avoid market rigidity. Government’s view: kindness and compassion cannot be legislated. Nor can they be enforced. It follows, then, that moral suasion, raising public awareness and promoting civic consciousness are more realistic ways to bring about change.[1]
- Legislation is the way to change mindsets and attitudes because people are apathetic[2]
Programmes | Gaps | Ideas |
Guidelines by Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) for fair employment practices
|
TAFEP Guidelines is not strictly binding; lack bite; no legal recourse [Need data/evidence on efficacy of TAFEP claims]
[Comment from an autistic man working in open employment: 1) in today's employment landscape where more than 50% employers value soft skills over hard skills, autistics are at a disadvantage because that is one inherent weakness for us. Whereas physical disabilities doesn't interfere with social skills (though of course there are other challenges they face). 2) It is less clear on what constitutes discrimination. E.g. if an employer doesn't hire a deaf person because the job requires answering phone calls (that is not discrimination) VS an employer doesn't hire a deaf person to do a desk-bound job that requires computer usage (that is discrimination, if the employer didn't assess him/her holistically and just wrote him/her off BECAUSE he/she is deaf). However, for autistics, due to the nature of our challenges, and the fact that soft skills cannot be totally avoided in the workplace, the line is blur on what is discrimination and what is not] |
Anti-discrimination laws and/or ombudsman body together with public education. [Existing legislation we can study, adapt and adopt from are the Americans with Disabilities Act, the United Kingdom’s Equality Act and Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act, which are regarded as being the gold standard. |
Employment Act | Employment Act - no legal recourse for offenders |
Discussion on Employment Quota
Use a tiered quota system for hiring?
- ↑ https://www.msf.gov.sg/media-room/Pages/Employment-rate-of-Persons-with-Disabilities.aspx
- ↑ https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/more-than-25-of-people-with-disabilities-are-employed
- ↑ http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/people-with-disabilities-in-the-spotlight
- ↑ https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/more-firms-in-singapore-hiring-people-with-disabilities
- ↑ http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/scheme-to-help-students-with-special-needs-find-work
- ↑ https://www.msf.gov.sg/policies/Disabilities-and-Special-Needs/Documents/Enabling%20Masterplan%203%20(revised%2013%20Jan%202017).pdf