Funding for inclusive hiring, gig employment among plans to help 4,500 people with disabilities get jobs

SINGAPORE: Funding support for employers to implement inclusive hiring practices and gig jobs to help people with disabilities return to the workforce were among the recommendations unveiled under the Enabling Masterplan 2030 on Monday (Sep 16). 
The master plan is a national roadmap for the government and community to work together to support people with disabilities.
With these recommendations, an additional 4,500 people with disabilities are expected to be placed into employment by 2030, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said in a media release. 
The resident employment rate of people with disabilities aged 15 to 64 has gone up steadily from 28.2 per cent in 2018/2019 to 32.7 per cent in 2022/2023, MSF said. 
Singapore aims to increase this to 40 per cent by 2030. 
Under the Enabling Masterplan 2030, two task forces – one focusing on promoting inclusive employment practices and the other on community living for people with disabilities – were set up in 2022. 
They comprised members from the community, private and public sectors as well as individuals.
The task forces released their recommendations after extensive consultations with employers, people with disabilities, caregivers, job coaches and social service agencies, said MSF.
At the unveiling at the Enabling Academy Learning Festival on Monday, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua said more can be done to support people with disabilities who are 18 years and older. 
“Two specific areas we can do so are in advancing the participation of (people) with disabilities in employment as well as in providing more living options within the community,” said Mr Chua. 
He added that MSF supports the key recommendations proposed by the two task forces as they support the ministry’s efforts in building an “even more caring and inclusive Singapore”.
“As we work towards 2030, we will continue to do more, particularly in the post-18 space, and we need more in society to come on board this collective journey of disability inclusion,” Mr Chua said.
“Ultimately, we want to make it possible for people of all abilities to participate fully in society, and to reach their fullest potential in life.”
According to a report by the Taskforce on Promoting Inclusive Employment Practices, over 7,000 companies have hired people with disabilities who are known to government-supported disability services. 
Many employers do not hire people with disabilities because they are not aware of the benefits of inclusive hiring or have limited knowledge and in-house capabilities to do so, the report read.
Moreover, close to 4 in 5 inclusive employers hire only one person with a disability.
Hence, there is a need to support employers better to tap on the pool of people with disabilities, and create inclusive workplaces for them to contribute meaningfully to companies, the task force said in its report. 
This will require growing the number of inclusive employers and enabling them to sustain and scale up the hiring of people with disabilities. 
The government targets to increase the number of inclusive employers from over 7,000 today to 10,000 by 2030, of which, 30 per cent will hire more than one employee with disability. 
To do so, the task force recommended increasing support to build up employers’ in-house capabilities to implement inclusive hiring practices.
This could include covering the cost to appoint, hire or engage and equip an inclusive workplace “champion” or in-house job coach to cultivate an inclusive work environment.
The task force also recognised the importance of tapping on existing inclusive employers to raise awareness and encourage inclusive hiring. 
During engagements with employers, the task force noted that many did not know where to start when it came to inclusive hiring or the types of jobs that were suitable for people with disabilities. 
Hence, it recommended expanding the pool of inclusive hiring “champions” who can advocate for inclusive hiring practices in six target sectors. 
These include sectors such as information and communications, health and social services, and transport and storage.
For companies that are prepared to drive the inclusive hiring agenda, the government can explore providing funding to support their efforts to increase inclusive hiring among their peers or networks, the task force said in its report. 
While initiatives such as the School-to-Work Transition Programme for special education or SPED students have contributed to the increase in employment among people with disabilities, a large proportion remain unemployed. 
Among resident people with disabilities aged 15 to 64 who were not employed, about 20 per cent had employment history in the past five years.
The task force proposed placing people with disabilities looking for employment in short-term assignments, or gig jobs. 
Gig jobs can be a “stepping stone” for work-capable people with disabilities to build up their work stamina and experience after being out of the labour force for an extended period, and enable them to progress back into formal employment, it said. 
These jobs also provide those who are unable to take on formal employment an opportunity to work at their own time and pace.
In its media release, MSF said this initiative will help to expand the number of employment opportunities and improve access and support for job seekers with disabilities to return to the workforce.
The government aims to place 200 people with disabilities into gig jobs annually by 2026.
It also aims to support 70 per cent of them to continue engaging in gig work or move on to secure formal employment within six months after being placed into their gig job, the task force said.
Additionally, job coaches also play a crucial role in supporting the employment of people with disabilities. 
However, there is no standardised competency framework and recommended baseline training required for job coaches, the task force noted. 
As the nature of jobs and economic opportunities change, job coaches will also need to be equipped to curate, prepare and place people with disabilities into new job opportunities and sectors to meet manpower demands.
Hence, the task force said, there is a need to introduce a clear set of competencies to increase the capabilities and professional standards of job coaches.
SG Enable – the main agency for disability and inclusion in Singapore – launched the Job Coach Career Map which outlines the skills, competencies as well as career progression pathways for job coaches.
The career map is part of SG Enable’s Enabling Skills and Competencies Framework aimed at empowering people with disabilities in skills development and lifelong learning. 
Currently, most people with disabilities are living in the community, with a small proportion in adult disability homes. These homes provide long-term residential care for those who are neglected or whose caregivers are unable to provide care. 
Many caregivers have expressed uncertainty about the longer-term living arrangements of their adult children with disabilities, and their preference for them to live in the community if they can, MSF said. 
As such, the Taskforce on Community Living for Persons with Disabilities recommended a pilot called Enabling Living Programme. This aims to allow people with disabilities with low to moderate support needs to continue living independently in the community.
The pilot will develop, trial and evaluate the range of services required to support this group of people, and assess how these services can be organised and delivered.
MSF and SG Enable will work with relevant agencies to design and implement the pilot, which will serve up to 250 people with disabilities from 2025 to 2028.
In addition, to better support people with disabilities and their caregivers across life stages, the task force recommended that a sector-level person- and family-centred planning framework be established. 
This will help them identify and update their goals and plans, as well as activate support from the family, community and services in a timely manner, MSF said. 
When contemplating the support that they would require to live independently in the community, people with disabilities had shared that their goals and support needs could vary depending on their life stage and family circumstances, the task force said in its report.
Hence, it proposed that the framework identify these diverse needs and range of resources that can be used to support them. 
MSF and SG Enable will partner disability sector professionals to develop the framework, drawing upon best practices from transition planning in SPED schools and care planning protocols across adult disability services.