SINGAPORE : The employment of persons with disabilities received a boost with the launch of the Enhanced Open Door Fund on Saturday.

New features have been added to the fund, which provides incentives to encourage companies to hire more of them.

Matthias Wong has no experience working in a supermarket. But Prime Supermarket hired him early this month as a retail assistant at its store at Teck Whye Lane.

Some job re-design was done to cater for his hearing disability. His colleagues also attended a sign language course in order to better communicate with Matthias .

Ching Wee Cheong, CEO, Prime Supermarket, said: "The first thing you must explain to your managers or the person in charge of the department or the branch is the reason why the company wants to employ them. It is more or less to perform the social responsibility, and also to give them a chance to work in a normal working environment."

Individuals like Matthias are getting more opportunities in gaining employment.

Thanks to the Open Door Fund, companies can use up to S$100,000 to implement job re-design and workplace modifications. And with the Enhanced Open Door Fund, firms can now take in persons with disabilities as apprentices under a funded apprenticeship programme before employing them.

Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said such arrangements allow them to focus on their abilities.

He said: "There are many things that they can do. And I am glad that the private sector has taken this initiative with support from the government to push ahead and enhance the Open Door Fund.

"And through this Enhanced Open Door Fund, I am confident they will be able to reach out to more employers to help them adapt their work practices, to change their mindset, to encourage them to embrace these people with disabilities, so that they can become more independent and they can lead some meaningful lives."

So far, 57 companies have tapped on the fund to provide jobs for 387 persons with disabilities.

Sixty-six per cent of them were successfully retained for at least three months since the start of their employment. - CNA/ms