Retail Asia 2018 RA September.October 2018 (Online) | Page 30

FOCUS
Retail workforce
Creating meaningful and
sustainable employment
opportunities
As more companies embark on an inclusive hiring journey, Muneerah Bee
explores how persons with disabilities and differently-abled individuals represent
an untapped talent pool that can ease the labour shortage in the retail industry.
C
ultivating an inclusive
workplace is more than just a
buzzword in today’s economy
and becoming an inclusive
employer can actually make business
sense. Dr Marissa Lee Medjeral-Mills,
executive director, Disabled People’s
Association (DPA), shares: “Only one
in 10 persons with disabilities is able to
secure jobs in open employment and it
makes sense for companies to tap into
this underutilised potential labour force,
especially with increasing restrictions to
hiring foreigners [in Singapore].”
Additionally, persons with disabilities
and differently-abled individuals bring
diversity to a company’s workforce which
can help it build a creative, caring and
resilient corporate culture, according
to Abhimanyau Pal, executive director,
SPD (formerly known as Society for the
Physically Disabled).
“We believe with coaching,
patience, support and time,
differently-abled individuals can
be a great asset to any company.”
— Jaieden Shen, Head,
MINDS Hi-Job! JPJS Programme
28
Retail Asia September/October 2018
With time and support, persons with
disabilities can perform competently on
an assigned job task with commitment
and consistency. Jaieden Shen, head,
Movement for the Intellectually
Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) Hi-
Job! JPJS (Job Placement/Job Support)
Programme, shares: “We have employers
who have commended their employees
with disabilities, for their reliability,
dedication and valuable contribution
to the workforce. With job carving,
persons with disabilities can take up
their non-disabled colleagues’ secondary
tasks that may be perceived as mundane/
monotonous so they can both focus on
what they do best to increase overall
productivity, speed and output.”
Starting the journey
Medjeral-Mills reveals that more and
more companies are contacting DPA to
request information on how to recruit
persons with disabilities and prepare
their workplaces to be more inclusive.
She cites the Open Door Programme
grant, a Singapore government-funded
initiative which provides up to 90%
subsidies for the costs of preparing
a workplace for employees with
disabilities as well as free recruitment
and onboarding support. The grant is
administered by SG Enable — an agency
dedicated to enabling persons with
disabilities.
She explains that almost any job can
be modified to accommodate employees
with disabilities as long as employers