Singapore aims to hire more working-age persons with disabilities

The goal was set out in the fourth and latest roadmap, launched recently, to support PWDs and enable them to contribute to society.

The Enabling Masterplan 2030 (EMP2030) also laid out initiatives for employers that would move the country towards this goal over the next eight years. It recommended a task force to design alternative employment models for PWDs, such as micro jobs or temporary tasks that can help more people get work.

The 40% employment rate goal would mean placing another estimated 10,000 PWDs into jobs.

Gan Seow Kee, Vice-chairman of the Singapore Business Federation, who co-chaired a 27-member committee that worked on the masterplan, said, “Employment of persons is not just an economic matter. It can provide a sense of participation in society, of contributing to society, a sense of being included, which is overall what EMP2030 is all about.”

READ: Flexible work arrangements a priority to jobseekers in Singapore

The committee was convened in July 2021 and consulted more than 300 PWDs, their families and caregivers, as well as disability sector professionals for the report. 

All 29 recommendations in the report have been accepted, said Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, who received the report on behalf of the Government. 

These proposals are in the areas of special education, employment, caregiver support, inclusive communication, healthcare and others, according to The Straits Times.