Earlier this year, I spoke at length with a mom of 2 special needs kids, the eldest of whom was in secondary school. She pointed out that once out of school, there isn't enough support to help the special needs young adults obtain the skills to secure a job, and there are extremely limited job opportunities for them.
She went on trips to Singapore and Australia to specifically find out the situation in those countries, and noted that our government is lagging far behind in providing support and opportunities. As she shared details and her concerns, I felt that the future did look rather grim for young adults with disabilities, in Malaysia.
So when I read an article in The Star today about a 4 star hotel in KL that hired those with disabilities, I was encouraged. Perhaps with greater awareness being raised through the media, there will be far more employment opportunities for the disabled.
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Article below was reproduced from:
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/7/13/central/8984135&sec=central
Wednesday July 13, 2011
Jobs for the disabled help them to be independent
By TAN KARR WEI
karrwei@thestar.com.my
GOING to work on the LRT might be a mundane task for many city dwellers but 18-year-old Koh Khong Way had to be trained by his mother before she let him take the LRT alone from their home in Sri Kembangan to his workplace in Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur.
Khong Way, who currently studies in SMK Bandar Tasik Selatan, is one of the disabled workers currently working in the hotel.
Traders Hotel communications manager Theresa Goh said that 1.8% of their 400 employees were from the disabled group.
“We started in 2008 as part of our CSR project and we approached organisations and disabled societies for people that could work with us.
“It has been a success and now people are approaching us. We also get referrals from Socso for employees under the ‘Return to Work’ category who have lost their previous jobs because of work-related injuries,” said Goh.
* Full story in The Star (Metro Section) today.
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