SINGAPORE: Searching for a job has now been made easy for persons with disabilities, thanks to a dedicated job portal.
The Open Door job portal was unveiled at a job fair targeting the disabled on Saturday (Nov 22). Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean was also present at the event.
There were about 500 vacancies – mostly in the health-care, retail, and hospitality sectors – and organisers said 170 job seekers were interviewed and 30 were shortlisted.
The job fair was organised by SG Enable and North East Community Development Council, supported by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA). SG Enable – the agency dedicated to enabling persons with disabilities – said the aim was to help the disabled achieve greater self-dignity and independence.
The fair also featured a networking session between employers and jobseekers suited for jobs at professionals, managers and executives level. Employers who attended included Standard Chartered Bank and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
Valerie Loy, Vice president of Human Resources at RWS, said: “We have in place a network of support structures to integrate them into our workplace, such as classroom training. We also have on the job training. On top of that we assign mentors to these individuals.”
Job seeker Ivan Lin said his aim was to upgrade himself and get a career: “To get a decent opportunity, that’s what I really hope for, because I’m always at the training level. But now with age I have sufficient training.”
Since early 2014, SG Enable said it has been working with various Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) to help place 230 persons with disabilities into various job positions. These include rank-and-file positions to those which require higher or more specific skills such as accounting, graphic design and engineering.
It said at least two in 10 people it helped were placed in higher level jobs. SG Enable said close to 70 companies have come on board the Open Door Programme (ODP) since it was launched in April this year.
news source & image credits: channelnewsasia.com
