Provision of Infrastructure to Create Structured Work Environments and Work Processes to Support Persons with Disabilities

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry tracks how SG Enable is working together with employers to provide the necessary infrastructure to create structured work environments and clear work processes to support persons with disabilities.

SG Enable administers the Open Door Programme (ODP) which provides support to employers to hire persons with disabilities through grants and employment support services. The ODP provides customised job placement and job support from trained job coaches, who advise employers on how they can create accessible work environments and make reasonable job accommodations to enable employees with disabilities to perform their roles effectively and work well with co-workers. Between 2020 and 2022, SG Enable and its partners placed an average of 500 persons with disabilities into jobs each year.

Employers can also tap on the Job Redesign Grant under ODP to modify workplaces and provide the infrastructure needed, such as the inclusion of calm rooms and assistive technology. ODP also provides subsidies for employers and their employees without disabilities to attend workshops that prepare them to interact with, hire, integrate and retain employees with disabilities. For example, SG Enable offers a range of courses under its High Impact Retention and Employment (HIRE) Workshop Series that help employers learn how to create safe work environments and modify work processes to suit the unique needs of their employees with disabilities. Over the past five years, on average, 65 organisations have sent over 1,420 employees without disabilities to attend these courses each year, to learn how to recruit and integrate persons with disabilities at their workplaces.

Later this year, SG Enable will also launch the first Enabling Business Hub (EBH) in Jurong to showcase inclusive hiring practices and support employers, starting with the logistics industry, to implement such practices at their workplaces.