SINGAPORE - People with disabilities living in the west will get more training and job support nearer their homes, thanks to a new space that opened in Jurong West on Dec 13.

Set up by SG Enable, the first Enabling Business Hub, located next to Lakeside MRT station, will create job opportunities for people with various disabilities.

The hub rents out office space to inclusive employers such as Bizlink Centre and Superduper, and has a realistic e-commerce and logistics fulfilment environment set up to prepare persons with disabilities to work in the logistics sector.

It aims to place 500 persons with disabilities in employment over the next five years. Trainees have the opportunity to be placed in SG Enable’s network of over 4,000 inclusive employers.

Job coaches will provide up to two years of job support to persons with disabilities who require more guidance to work independently.

Launching the new hub, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said employing persons with disabilities is not just a matter of jobs and productivity, or corporate social responsibility, but is good for all employees.

“At its heart, it enables persons with disabilities to fulfil their desire to be useful, contributing members of society,” he said.

“And companies that have made the shift to a workplace that is inclusive of persons with disabilities have often found that co-workers become more supportive of each other and better motivated at work, and even customers become more understanding.

“In other words, embracing persons with disabilities helps to shift our culture for everyone’s good.”

The Government aims to raise the employment rate of persons with disabilities from the current 31 per cent to 40 per cent by 2030, by placing 10,000 more people in jobs. Mr Tharman said Amazon, for instance, has pledged to hire 15 per cent of its employees at its operations facilities from diverse groups of persons with disabilities over the next three years. The multinational technology company has worked with SG Enable to develop specialised training programmes, and engaged job coaches and occupational therapists to improve workplace accessibility.

The Enabling Business Hub in Jurong partnered Amazon, Singapore Logistics Association, Republic Polytechnic and Bizlink Centre to design a curriculum to train persons with disabilities to take up jobs in e-commerce and logistics fulfilment.

The hub was announced in the Enabling Masterplan 2030, a road map released in 2022 on how to support people with disabilities and enable them to contribute to society.

At the hub, employers can learn how to redesign jobs and adopt technology to facilitate the employment of persons with disabilities in their workplace.

SG Enable, the focal agency for disability and inclusion in Singapore, will work with trade associations, business chambers and community partners to raise awareness of the employment support available for employers and persons with disabilities, and expand inclusive hiring in more sectors.

SG Enable has also worked with the Singapore Land Authority to have OneMap show special education schools, disability programmes and services near people’s homes.

Former mechanical engineer Shahul Hameed Abdul Majeed faced challenges finding work after a stroke in 2019 that left him unable to use his right hand. It also caused him mild aphasia, a language disorder caused by damage in part of the brain. The 53-year-old uses a wheelchair but is re-learning to walk.

Since recovering from the stroke, he has worked as a SafeEntry staff member in a restaurant for six months and a security guard with reception duties for a month before his employment contract with the company lapsed.

Mr Shahul now has help from his job coach at the hub – about 20 minutes away from his home in Bukit Batok – to find a more stable job. “I’m open to any job, in logistics or the security line, or to become a counsellor. I want to support my family.”

He and his wife, a pre-school teacher, have four children aged 1½ years to 24.

Social enterprise Superduper, an apothecary that makes lifestyle and healthcare products, has four employees with disabilities, alongside staff from low-income backgrounds, former offenders and single mothers.

Founder Then Khek Koon said the four individuals, who work as packers, warehouse executives and last-mile delivery drivers, are paid market rates and their salary is tied to their productivity. For instance, a driver, who has autism, is paid over $2,000 monthly, which may come nearer to $3,000 if he does more deliveries.

He is also learning to charge an electric vehicle, as the company moves towards environmentally sustainable deliveries.

The organisation tailors training to each employee and pairs them in a buddy system to support one another.

Mr Then said the company taps the strengths of employees. “If someone keeps looking in the mirror because he’s vain, I’ll make him a hairstylist. And if he’s left-handed, I’ll make him left-handed scissors,” he said.

Mr Tharman highlighted the role of employers who spread best practices, co-workers who create a friendly environment, and educators who help persons with disabilities access employment support.

“So let us go beyond acceptance and take the practical steps required to remove barriers – often invisible barriers – so that persons with disabilities are able to secure work and contribute to society as our fellow citizens,” he said.