Initiatives underway in Singapore to support the employability of vulnerable groups, including persons with mental health conditions

One of these would involve HR professionals in a best-practice sharing platform, to learn and understand employment barriers and challenges that vulnerable individuals may face in seeking jobs, and how to tackle them.

SBF Foundation, the social impact arm of Singapore Business Federation (SBF), has officially partnered with three local institutions to provide holistic employability support for four vulnerable groups in Singapore's society.

This was signified by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between SBF Foundation and the institutions — namely Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI), NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), and Tote Board — on Wednesday (18 May 2022).

The vulnerable groups targeted as part of this initiative include rough sleepers, long-term unemployed parents and caregivers of at-risk children, persons with mental health conditions, and women facing challenges. 

What this partnership entails

Supporting 300 individuals annually 

Over the next three years from July 2022, SBF Foundation and its programme partners — Daughters Of Tomorrow, Singapore Association for Mental Health, New Hope Community Services, and SHINE Children & Youth Services — aim to uplift 300 individuals annually, through personalised aid and dedicated platforms to help them enter or re-enter the workforce. To fund these long-term efforts, SBF Foundation will commit to raising S$1mn annually for the Employability Fund from the business community.

The Fund was started in 2020 with an initial funding of S$800,000 from SBF Foundation and Tote Board.

Helping HR professionals and employers share and learn from best practices

Apart from the above, SBF Foundation also aims to reach out to 120 employers with hiring intentions to take part in Empower Circles, a peer-learning platform to forge progressive hiring practices among the business community. 

Speaking at a ceremony to commemorate the MoU signing, Chee Hong Tat, NTUC Deputy Secretary-General, said. "The platform aims to help HR professionals understand the employment barriers and challenges that vulnerable individuals may face in their job-seeking experiences and learn from one another on how employers can make employment possible for such individuals."

Hsieh Fu Hua, Chairman of the SBF Foundation, added: "Being employed provides one a sense of security, achievement, and purpose in life. The SBF Foundation is cognisant that improving the employment prospects for Singapore’s more vulnerable workers is a relentless effort, and we wish to rally our members of the business community to join us and our partners in these efforts."

Image / Singapore Business Federation Foundation Singapore

Follow us on Telegram and on Instagram @humanresourcesonline for all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region!