More employment opportunities for workers with disabilities in Singapore

There has been rising interest among companies to hire workers with disabilities, with enquiries on the matter rising by 30% from potential hirers since Singapore released its Enabling Masterplan 2030 this August.

Over the last few years, there has been higher interest in hiring people with disabilities (PWD), with over 700 employers offering over 2,000 jobs between April 2018 and July 2022, reported SG Enable, the focal agency for disability in Singapore.

The rise in hiring is confined mostly to service sectors like hospitality and food and beverage (F&B), while sectors like tech, logistics and healthcare have only started opening up to hiring PWDs. 

Ang Li May, chief executive of people with disabilities (PWD) employment agency Bizlink, also finds that sectors that face manpower shortages, like F&B and retail, hire Bizlink trainees more readily, reported The Straits Times. The agency, which trains and places those with moderate to severe disability in jobs, has observed that trainees can also work from home, with jobs like data annotation. 

READ: Singapore encourages hiring of people with disabilities

The Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (Minds) has also received about 10% more enquiries since April. As sectors like tourism, F&B and retail opened up after loosened COVID-19 restrictions, the number of businesses working with Minds trainees rose from 32 in 2020 to 46 in 2022.

Singapore’s Enabling Masterplan 2030 hopes to achieve 40% employment for PWDs, and aims to place another 10,000 people into jobs by 2030.