Nationwide Study on Employment for Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong’s inquiry about a nationwide study on the employment of persons with disabilities to identify their challenges and wage comparisons. Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin responded that SG Enable has placed over 1,000 persons into jobs and supported tertiary internships since its inception. He noted that persons with disabilities comprise 0.55% of the resident labour force, with 60% utilizing government support schemes for transport, income, and training. These individuals are mainly employed in sectors like hospitality and retail, earning median monthly gross wages between $1,000 and $2,800. The Ministry will continue to explore methods for capturing comprehensive data on employment conditions to improve support for this segment of the workforce.
Transcript
31 Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will conduct a comprehensive nationwide study on the employment rate and employment conditions of persons with disabilities and special needs, with a focus on finding out the employment difficulties they face and how their salaries compare to other workers with similar qualifications.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Employment is integral to enabling persons with disabilities to live independently and integrate with society. In 2013, SG Enable (SGE) was set up to enhance employability and employment options for persons with disability. SGE works with voluntary welfare organisations to seek out employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and to place and support them in these jobs.
Over the past two years, SGE and its partners have collectively placed more than 1,000 persons with disabilities into employment. SGE has also supported internships for about 75 tertiary students with disabilities in our Institutes of Higher Learning. Employment support for persons with disabilities range from training for employability, to job placement and support, to working with employers to put in place arrangements for better integration.
Through these employment support efforts, SGE has gained a better understanding of the needs and challenges of persons with disabilities seeking employment. With this knowledge, SGE will continue to render timely and customised support to persons with disabilities in seeking and sustaining employment.
Persons with disabilities comprise about 0.55% of the resident labour force, and 60% of them tap on the various employment support schemes ranging from transportation subsidy, income supplement and training support. These persons with disabilities are mainly employed in the hospitality, food and beverage, wholesale and retail and administrative support sectors. Their median monthly gross wage ranged from $1,000 to $2,800.
The Ministry of Social and Family Development will continue to explore means of capturing information on the employment status and conditions of persons with disabilities, so that we have a more complete picture of the situation and can better support them as part of our diverse workforce.