Promoting Employment of Persons with Disabilities

Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many employers are currently registered under SG Enable’s Open Door Programme (ODP) as ODP employers; (b) what percentage of ODP employers have hired persons with disabilities (PWDs); and (c) whether there are other initiatives to better promote the aim of having 40% of working-age PWDs employed by 2030.

The Open Door Programme (ODP), administered by SG Enable, encourages employers to hire, train and integrate persons with disabilities into the workplace through grants and employment support services.

Employers that tap on SG Enable’s funding schemes or post job openings on SG Enable’s job portal are registered as ODP employers. As of October 2022, there were 2,268 employers registered as ODP employers, of which 23% have hired persons with disabilities. Other ODP employers may not have found suitable candidates for their job openings or were unable to hire for other reasons, such as their companies undergoing a hiring freeze.

Besides the ODP, other initiatives to support employment for persons with disabilities include:

(a) The Enabling Employment Credit supports employers with wage offsets of up to 30% for each Singaporean employee with disability earning below $4,000 per month;

(b) The Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) provides salary support of up to 20% for the first $6,000 of wages for a period of six months, for each new hire that is a person with disabilities. JGI has been extended to March 2023;

(c) The Place-and-Train and Attach-and-Train programmes which were launched by the National Jobs Council during COVID-19 to provide customised employment, traineeships and skills upgrading opportunities to persons with disabilities until March 2023;

(d) Transition-to-work programmes, such as the School-to-Work programme, which provides vocational training and support to work-capable persons with disabilities entering employment from Special Education Schools; and

(e) The Enabling Mark, a national accreditation to recognise disability-inclusive employers.

A multi-stakeholder task force has also been formed under the Enabling Masterplan 2030 to enhance employment support and opportunities for persons with disabilities. We are also looking at starting Enabling Business Hubs to bring jobs closer to where persons with disabilities live. Most importantly, employers must come on board to hire persons with disabilities. Only then can we achieve our vision of an inclusive society where persons with disabilities are recognised for their abilities, knowledge and skills.