New committee set up by SG Enable reviews quality of training for persons with disabilities

Students from Grace Orchard School learning how to prepare waffles at the Inclusive Lifelong Learning Festival 2026.

PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Published Oct 12, 2026, 04:26 PM

Updated Oct 12, 2026, 04:26 PM

A new SG Enable committee will standardise training for persons with disabilities, so courses meet common standards and build daily living and work skills.

The 15-member panel will align programmes to the Enabling Skills and Competencies Framework and help ease the “post-18 cliff” for adults with disabilities.

SG Enable will also expand its train-and-place scheme to five more sectors, while schools and colleges add more transition support and work exposure.

SINGAPORE – A new committee will review training programmes across providers for persons with disabilities (PWDs) to ensure they meet consistent standards and equip them with skills for daily life and work.

Set up by national disability agency SG Enable , the 15-person committee including experts from social service agencies, caregivers, and employers. It aims to strengthen education and training for PWDs aged 18 and above, who face uncertainty in the period after graduation known as the “post-18 cliff”.

The Advisory Committee on Continuing Education and Training for Persons with Disabilities was announced on Oct 12 at the Inclusive Lifelong Learning Festival 2026, held at the Enabling Village in Redhill . The one-day event explored ways to strengthen employment support for PWDs.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education Syed Harun Alhabsyi said the new committee would help ensure training keeps pace with the needs of learners and employers.

Nirmala Palaysamy, director of Enabling Academy, SG Enable’s disability learning hub, said the committee will ensure minimum standards for inclusive training.

Nirmala leads the committee with Ang Chiew Geok, the group head of TOUCH Community Services’ special needs programme.

Training providers who guide PWDs on independent living and work skills currently each have different programmes and assessment methods, said Nirmala. Such skills include cooking and taking public transport, or digital literacy and socialising with colleagues.

The committee will ensure all courses align with SG Enable’s Enabling Skills and Competencies Framework, which sets out the skills PWDs need to live independently and work.

The announcement comes about a week after the Taskforce on Assurance for Families with Persons with Disabilities released a report on Oct 4 outlining recommendations, including more employment support and training for front-line polyclinic staff to attend to people with intellectual disability and autism.

On Oct 12, Syed Harun, a member on the task force, added that two special education (SPED) schools serving students with autism that offer the national curriculum - St. Andrew’s Mission School and Pathlight School - are developing programmes for students to gain work exposure.

More SPED school graduates are also progressing to the Institute of Technical Education and polytechnics, so a transition support programme will be introduced.

Although schools and institutions already have transition planning, the level of support varies, said Syed Harun.

The new support programme will involve ITE and polytechnic staff bringing students with disabilities around campuses before their first day of school to familiarise them with student support officers and classrooms, he added.

New job for ex-teacher with disability

To provide more structured support, SG Enable’s Sector Train-and-Place programme, which was piloted in 2025 to train PWDs for jobs in the hospitality sector, will be expanded to five more sectors.

These include food and beverage and info-communications and technology.

Administrative assistant Michelle Tay , 60, found her job through the SG Enable programme in 2025, after spending two years unsuccessfully looking for work.

The former vocational school teacher started using a wheelchair several years ago after a sandfly bite infected her right leg. She applied for a few administrative jobs but kept being turned away . She was also worried that her age would be an obstacle, said Tay.

Through the programme, she learnt computer and telecommunication skills at the Singapore Institute of Hospitality, which later offered her a job.

She has been working there for about a year and hopes to keep learning, such as taking a course in artificial intelligence.

“I think learning is forever. As long as you want to learn, doors will be open,” she added.

The Inclusive Lifelong Learning Festival 2026 was jointly organised by Enabling Academy, Skills and Workforce Development Agency and Lifelong Learning Singapore.

Visitors including students and caregivers tried simulated work environments for PWDs across sectors like hospitality, logistics and retail.

Christine Tan is a correspondent at The Straits Times reporting on social affairs and issues of justice in Singapore.

Special needs/Special education

来自格雷斯果园学校的学生在2026年包容性终身学习节上学习如何制作华夫饼。

图片来源：联合早报

发布于 2026 年 10 月 12 日下午 4:26

更新于2026年10月12日下午4:26

新的SG Enable委员会将规范残疾人士的培训，使课程符合共同标准，并培养日常生活和工作技能。

这个由 15 名成员组成的小组将使各项计划与赋能技能和能力框架保持一致，并帮助缓解残疾成年人在 18 岁后面临的“断崖式”困境。

SG Enable 还将把其培训就业计划扩展到另外五个行业，同时学校和学院也将增加过渡支持和工作实践机会。

新加坡——一个新成立的委员会将审查各机构为残疾人提供的培训计划，以确保这些计划符合统一的标准，并使他们具备日常生活和工作所需的技能。

该委员会由国家残疾人机构SG Enable设立，由15名成员组成，包括来自社会服务机构、护理人员和雇主的专家。其目标是加强对18岁及以上残疾人士的教育和培训，帮助他们应对毕业后被称为“18岁后悬崖”的不确定时期。

10月12日，在雷德希尔赋能村举行的2026年包容性终身学习节上，宣布成立残疾人继续教育和培训咨询委员会。此次为期一天的活动探讨了加强对残疾人就业支持的方法。

教育部高级政务次长赛义德·哈伦·阿尔哈布西表示，新成立的委员会将有助于确保培训与学习者和雇主的需求保持同步。

SG Enable 旗下残疾人学习中心 Enabling Academy 的主任 Nirmala Palaysamy 表示，该委员会将确保包容性培训的最低标准。

Nirmala 领导该委员会，成员包括 TOUCH 社区服务特殊需求计划的负责人 Ang Chiew Geok。

尼尔马拉表示，目前各家为残障人士提供独立生活和工作技能培训的机构，其课程设置和评估方法都不尽相同。这些技能包括烹饪、乘坐公共交通工具、数字素养以及与同事社交等。

委员会将确保所有课程均符合 SG Enable 的赋能技能和能力框架，该框架列出了残疾人独立生活和工作所需的技能。

大约一周前，残疾人家庭保障工作组于 10 月 4 日发布了一份报告，其中概述了多项建议，包括为一线综合诊所工作人员提供更多就业支持和培训，以便他们更好地照顾智力障碍和自闭症患者。

10 月 12 日，工作组成员 Syed Harun 补充说，两所为自闭症学生提供国家课程的特殊教育学校——圣安德鲁教会学校和 Pathlight 学校——正在制定让学生获得工作经验的计划。

越来越多的特殊教育学校毕业生升入技术教育学院和理工学院，因此将推出过渡支持计划。

Syed Harun表示，虽然学校和机构已经制定了过渡计划，但支持力度却参差不齐。

他补充说，新的支持计划将包括工艺教育学院和理工学院的工作人员在残疾学生开学第一天之前带领他们参观校园，让他们熟悉学生支持人员和教室。

残疾前教师找到新工作

为了提供更有条理的支持，SG Enable 的行业培训安置计划（该计划于 2025 年启动试点，旨在培训残疾人士在酒店业就业）将扩展到另外五个行业。

其中包括食品饮料、信息通信和技术等行业。

60岁的行政助理Michelle Tay在2025年通过SG Enable计划找到了工作，此前她花了两年时间寻找工作，但都无果。

这位前职业学校教师几年前因白蛉叮咬导致右腿感染，之后便开始使用轮椅。她申请过几份行政工作，但都遭到了拒绝。Tay说，她还担心自己的年龄会成为求职的障碍。

通过该项目，她在新加坡酒店管理学院学习了计算机和电信技能，后来该学院为她提供了一份工作。

她在那里工作大约一年了，并希望继续学习，例如参加人工智能课程。

“我认为学习是一个终身的过程。只要你想学，机会之门就永远为你敞开，”她补充道。

2026 年包容性终身学习节由 Enabling Academy、技能与劳动力发展局和新加坡终身学习协会联合举办。

包括学生和护理人员在内的参观者体验了酒店、物流和零售等行业的残疾人模拟工作环境。

克里斯汀·谭是《海峡时报》的记者，报道新加坡的社会事务和司法问题。

特殊需求/特殊教育