Opening Remarks for Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Mr Chee Hong Tat at the Launch of the Enabling Pathway Programme (Land Transport Engineering)

Mr Jeffrey Sim, Group CEO, SBS Transit

Mr Patrick Tay, Chairman, SIM People Development Fund Ms Low Khah Gek, CEO, ITE

Ms Ku Geok Boon, CEO, SG Enable

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

1. Good morning. I am very happy to join all of you here today for the launch of the Enabling Pathway Programme for Land Transport Engineering.

2. Let me start by congratulating ITE, SBS Transit, SG Enable and SIM People Development Fund on the launch of this very meaningful programme.

3. I am heartened that Land Transport Engineering has been chosen as the first sector where students will benefit from the Enabling Pathway Programme. We hope that this successful pilot will encourage more companies, not just in the transport sector, but also companies from other sectors to come on board.

4. There are many meaningful roles in bus and rail engineering. With more than 7 million rides taken on buses and trains every day, our public transport workers, who are the unsung heroes, touch the lives of many Singaporeans every day, by providing a safe, reliable and efficient public transport system for our commuters.

5. I am very happy that the transport sector is making further effort to do good for society, by creating more opportunities for persons with disabilities to join our sector and make meaningful contributions to society through their roles as public transport workers.

Helping PwDs realise their aspirations

6. With the launch of today's programme, students with disabilities who are pursuing related engineering courses, such as rapid transit engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, will have a more open path towards jobs in bus and rail engineering.

7. Under this programme, students will receive comprehensive career guidance, including information to help them choose a relevant course of study, and job-matching with participating employers for internships and career opportunities. They will also receive a $2,400 training award from SIM People Development Fund, on top of their existing internship allowance.

Acknowledging the efforts of partner organisations

8. The Enabling Pathway Programme is closely aligned with efforts across society to create more inclusive workplaces. While the Government will continue to do more to empower persons with disabilities across all stages of life, we need the support from everyone. This is not just a government effort, this has to be a whole-of-society effort - our businesses, community groups, families and individuals - all of us can play a role to create a more inclusive environment where as many persons with disabilities as possible can take on meaningful job roles and contribute fully to our society.

9. We can all do our part to break down barriers for our fellow Singaporeans, if we commit ourselves to the vision of a more inclusive Singapore. As Patrick shared earlier, it took SBS Transit, ITE, SIM People Development Fund and SG Enable just six months to turn this programme from idea into reality. This is no mean feat, but they could achieve this because each partner believes firmly in the cause and has been actively engaged in redesigning jobs to empower as many workers as possible, including persons with disabilities.

10. SBS Transit has been a strong supporter of employing persons with disabilities. For instance, the cleaning services at this rail depot are provided by the clients from MINDS. SBST has also been investing in infrastructural changes to make its workplace more barrier-free and wheelchair friendly.

11. Before embarking on the Enabling Pathway Programme, SBST has been collaborating closely with SG Enable, under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop hiring and training programmes for persons with disabilities in the public transport industry.

12. Job redesign is key to ensuring that persons with disabilities are able to perform their job roles well. This is important because if we try to fit a person into existing job roles, it may not be a good fit all the time. Therefore, we need to think about how to redesign the job, so as to make full use of the abilities of our workers. We should see beyond their disabilities, and redesign the job to bring out the best of their abilities so that they can contribute meaningfully. Job redesign is crucial, and SBST has been working with SG Enable to customise the job scopes and improve the working environment for various transport maintenance roles, so that they are better suited to persons with different abilities.

13. This is why SBST was well placed to be a pioneer under the Enabling Pathway Programme. I look forward to meet the programme participants interning with SBST later. I think this is a good opportunity for me to learn about your positive experiences. If you can, help us spread this positive message to other fellow students so that we can encourage more to come on board.

14. As mentioned earlier, this is a successful pilot and we are very encouraged by it, but we should not stop here. I would like to propose four "D"s - "Do well; do good; do more; do together." One of the four "D"s is to do more, and this requires us to bring on board our community partners and our tripartite partners, so that we can scale up this meaningful initiative. I am confident that we have many other good employers who, like SBST, want to do good besides just doing well. We want to work with them and bring them on board, so that we are able to create more job opportunities for workers with different abilities.

15. This requires an investment in job redesign and training. It will not happen automatically, it requires effort. But after you go through that process, you will feel a great sense of satisfaction because it is very heartening. You are not just doing something that is positive for the society and your workers; you are also allowing the company to meet its manpower requirements, so it is a win-win for society and employers. I would like to call upon more employers to join us in this very meaningful endeavour.

16. SG Enable provides a Job Redesign Grant to help defray the cost of job redesign initiatives for employers. This may not be known to all employers, so it will be helpful if we can help spread the word through our industry chambers, trade associations, and certainly the government and unions will weigh in and give our support. The grant can be used for the purchase of equipment, workplace modifications, redesigning of job scopes and processes, and consultancy services. I hope more companies will tap on the grant, to achieve the win-win outcome of creating more employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. The job redesign efforts will also benefit other groups of job-seekers such as senior workers and care-givers who are unable to work full-time due to their family responsibilities. This is something which is not only limited to helping our workers with disabilities, but also creates a more inclusive workplace.

17. Further upstream, ITE has been providing better support and assistance to students with different needs, to help them do well in their courses. With the support of SG Enable, they have set up Learning Accessibility Offices across all three ITE colleges to spearhead such efforts.

18. Complementing these efforts in educational institutions are programmes by the SIM People Development Fund to empower students with disabilities to reach their potential, and ready them to excel in the workforce. These programmes include Study Awards, where close to $1 million was disbursed to support more than 300 tertiary students last year, and the "= Dreams" (pronounced as "Equal Dreams") programme to provide after-school support to children from low-income families.

Conclusion

19. It is wonderful to see these four organisations coming together, putting their strengths together to make the Enabling Pathway Programme happen. Congratulations once again to SBS Transit, ITE, SIM People Development Fund and SG Enable on the launch of the Enabling Pathway Programme!

20. I hope that your efforts in the land transport engineering sector can serve as an inspiration and guide for other sectors and industries to pursue job redesign, and to proactively offer good job opportunities for persons with disabilities. I urge more companies to come on board the Enabling Pathway Programme, to help our fellow Singaporeans of all abilities realise their aspirations and contribute meaningfully to our society.

21. Thank you very much.