Help under way to get special needs students ready for work

This post came out from The Straits Times (16 Apr 2015)

A new school-to-work transition programme will give students with special needs greater support when they move on to the workplace, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat revealed yesterday. His ministry will work with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and agency SG Enable to develop the pilot programme, which will begin this year.

At yesterday's official opening of the Association for Persons with Special Needs' (ASPN) Delta Senior School, Mr Heng said the plan is to have "more customised training pathways to benefit more special education students".

Currently, only Delta Senior School and Metta Schools - both for students with mild intellectual disabilities - offer national vocational certification programmes. These have enabled one in four special education (Sped) graduates to find work, he said, adding that the new transition programme will give students access to job training and opportunities.

There are 20 Sped schools here catering to 5,000 students, aged from seven to 18, who have intellectual disabilities, autism, or visual and hearing impairments. A multi-agency committee will work with a few Sped schools this year, Mr Heng told the audience. The team, he said, will "study the critical success factors, processes and resources needed for effective transition support for students with the potential to work". The programme will start in a student's final year of school and continue after he graduates and starts to work. It will be rolled out to more schools in phases from 2016.

Thoughts:

1. I believe that the disabled community can still make meaningful contributions to the society, and employment is one way that they not only can meet the requirements in the workforce, but also for them to lead a fulfilling life as well!
2. I remembered meeting a VWO recently and the director was sharing with me that if his agency can help the special needs clients to find jobs catered to their interest, it would lead to self actualization (Maslow Hierarchical of Needs). The challenge: Identifying this interest and the right persons to engage the clients. 
3. But nonetheless, we can start something so that this community can start something today!

Thoughts anyone?

Yours,

Something Small Thinking Big