JOHOR BARU: SINCE the Job Placement for People With Disabilities Unit (Uppoku) was established in 2011, 68 disabled individuals have secured employment in the state.
Uppoku human development officer Rozalina Omar said 411 had registered for job placement, while 68 had found jobs at hotels, mini markets and factories in the last two years.
She said, generally, employers did not reject employees with disabilities.
She said some disabled people found it challenging to go to work because of limited mobility and transport problems.
“People with disabilities normally request for the morning shift as it is easier to get public transport in the daytime,” she said.
Rozalina said job coaches were assigned to those who registered with the unit which was under the auspices of the Family Development Foundation.
“The job coach will give basic training in communication skills to employers and disabled employees,” she said.
“We try to match the candidates to the right jobs.”
Econsave southern regional operation manager Mas Imran Adam said about 30 of the more than 1,000 workers at 15 Econsave outlets in Johor were disabled.
“I feel that staff with disabilities have fewer disciplinary problems. I think that is because they value their jobs more,” he said.
“They work hard to keep their jobs because they know it is difficult for them to find employment.
“So far, two of our disabled staff in Johor have become supervisors. Those with hearing and speech impairment are assigned to tasks like packing or cutting vegetables.
“We also have a worker who is paralysed from the waist down. As long as he can read and write, and do the job like an able-bodied person, we don’t see why we cannot employ him.”
He said the company recruited disabled employees with the help of Uppoku.
Another establishment which hires disabled people is Mutiara Hotel Johor Baru.
Human resources assistant Fatin Yunos said the hotel had five staff with hearing and speech impairment.
She said they wore “sign language only” tags so that hotel guests were made aware of their disabilities.
“The other staff can handle simple sign language.
“If we encounter problems, we communicate with them through writing.
“So far, we have not had any disciplinary issues with any of our disabled staff,” she said.