22 people with disabilities receive SkillsFuture Study Award
Ms Alvina Neo, who represented Singapore at the 2014 Asean Para Games in hand-cycling, and a year later, in air pistol shooting, was among the inaugural batch of 22 SkillsFuture Study Award for Persons with Disabilities. Photo: Wee Teck Hian/TODAY
SINGAPORE — When her social worker went out of his way to source a piece of assistive technology for her, national para-athlete Alvina Neo was touched.
So much so that she switched from studying biomedical science in polytechnic to pursue a degree in social work at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), so that she could help children with special needs.
Born with spina bifida — a condition where the spinal cord does not develop fully — the 27-year-old said she “understands where they are coming from” and is intent on giving them a hand.
Ms Neo, who represented Singapore at the 2014 Asean Para Games in hand-cycling, and a year later, in air pistol shooting, was among the inaugural batch of 22 SkillsFuture Study Award for Persons with Disabilities.
The award, launched in September last year, is for persons with disabilities who have demonstrated resilience and perseverance to upskill and develop themselves. Successful applicants get a monetary award of S$5,000 each.
Ms Neo, for example, has to juggle a busy schedule, involving her degree programme at SUSS, her training, and work as a laboratory officer.
Another award recipient was Mr Terence Lew, who is hearing-impaired.
The 38-year-old has always loved drawing and communicating ideas through visuals. But he did not manage to enrol in a diploma programme in Visual Communication 15 years ago, and studied engineering instead.
As fate would have it, the Singapore Management University approached him in 1999, some time after he graduated, to design its website, paving his entry into the design industry where he picked up skills on the job.
He added that taking up the website design job was “like a gamble” and an experiment for him.
Being hearing-impaired also made communicating with colleagues a teething problem, recounted Mr Lew, now working as a senior user designer at a local telco.
Three years ago, he enrolled in a part-time bachelor’s degree programme in Visual Communication with business at the SUSS.
He is looking to further his studies with a master’s degree in business.
Speaking at the award ceremony, which was held at the Enabling Village, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin said he hoped the stories of award recipients like Mr Lew and Ms Neo would inspire others to take up lifelong learning.
“We live in a fast-changing and challenging global climate. New technologies, automation, digitisation ... are driving changes to industry structures and the way we work ... and it gives us a lot of anxieties,” said Mr Tan.
He added that it was “critical for all of us to pursue lifelong learning and develop skills and competencies to remain current and relevant to the job market”.
Another two SkillsFuture Study Awards were also given out on Tuesday (May 30) to those who support persons with disabilities in the employment process.
