‘The ground is not ready’: PWDs, caregivers raise concerns over finding jobs and staying employed

Soh felt staff at her mainstream secondary school did not know enough about guiding PWDs like her realistically over future employment. She learnt about SG Enable only in her final year at Republic Polytechnic. She found her first job as a media intern through the national agency.

For many PWDs, securing employment is a major challenge, said Edward Chan, who heads programmes and services at CaringSG, a charity supporting caregivers of special needs children.

He said some parents tirelessly approach companies to find jobs, asking: “Can you let my children try? You don’t need to pay. Just see whether they are suitable.”

Even when they find work, retention rates among PWDs remain poor.

Caregivers cite the lack of a standard procedure across workplaces on hiring and training PWDs, noting that their loved ones’ experiences depend on individual work environments. 

Parents often worry over how their child will integrate into the workplace, said Chan, who has two teenage daughters with autism, Yan Yun, 15, and Yan Ling, 17.

Yan Ling wants to join the culinary industry, but Chan said she may struggle to handle varying instructions at work and fears that her colleagues and supervisors would thus view her negatively.

Some workplaces exclude PWDs who do not adapt well, Chan said. “At the top (in government), they have the heart to want to help, but the ground is not ready.”

Changing work culture

Chan’s fears are not unfounded, as employers acknowledged the bumpy realities of integration.

Home-grown business Kim Choo Kueh Chang, known for its Nonya dumplings, currently hires 18 PWDs in part-time roles at its factory and outlets. Most have autism or intellectual disability.

Third-generation owner of the family business, Edmond Wong, said some staff initially complained about having to guide PWDs and rectify their mistakes, grumbling that they were “doing more work”.

What changed company culture over time, said Wong, was support from job coaches from SG Enable and Trampolene, a non-profit organisation helping people with special needs with employment.

The job coaches guided PWD staff in the initial stages, and trained existing staff on how to interact with them. Gradually, the staff warmed up to the new hires.

Ren Ci Hospital will have 17 PWD workers by August, mostly youth with autism employed in roles involving cleaning and laundry, as well as administrative and gardening assistants. It has put up picture cues around its nursing home to guide them on work tasks, and set up quiet corners they can retreat to if they feel overwhelmed.

Highlighting the strengths of PWD employees, Nuryasmin Hannah Suleiman, director of human resource and manpower development at Ren Ci Hospital, said: “They’re very dedicated, very steadfast, always eager to show up at work.”

Wong hopes the Government can provide more support for small and medium-sized enterprises to hire PWDs.

“If we could keep them at the workplace, I think it would help a lot of families,” said Wong. “They can live a dignified life, and their parents will know that they are in a safe environment.”

On employment, the task force intends to build PWDs’ work skills in school, improve reskilling services, and expand the range of jobs.

Other broad directions include improving families’ access to planning support across life transitions, helping PWDs stay engaged in the community, and reviewing how to keep disability services affordable.

Soh is now on her third job. Her current employer allows her to work from home full-time.

She types documents on her phone, and sometimes works by lying prone on her bed because of her weakening core strength.

Doubts about her worth cross her mind from time to time. But her boss, who is visually impaired, regularly reminds her that her contributions are valuable.

“It keeps me going in very difficult periods, that there’s something worth living for,” said Soh.