1.A very good morning, everyone. When you do a quick scan around the room, you see the diversity in the room – not only in terms of individuals you want to be able to nurture in terms of their potential, but also the diversity of stakeholders here – SG Enable, Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA), and training providers, employers, caregivers, people from the private sector, as well as the public sector. This speaks to the wide-ranging diversity of the community and the complexity of the work ahead for us.
2.I have been to the Enabling Village several times over the years, and each visit reminds me of what we are capable of as a society when we are intentional about inclusion.
3.What makes this place work is not the infrastructure alone. It is about the people who help make this village come alive, every single day – persons with disabilities who come ready to learn and grow; caregivers who walk alongside them; employers and training partners who have chosen to be part of this journey and part of this community.
4.Inclusion certainly does not happen by accident – it begins with the belief that every person deserves the opportunity to learn, to grow, to contribute, and the conviction to turn that belief into action, regardless of where they start or how their journey unfolds. This is the belief at the heart of this festival.
5.It could be a student in a Special Education (SPED) school discovering that she loves working in a professional kitchen. It could be a young man navigating his first week at a polytechnic; or an adult who picks up a new skill, already years into a career, and then discovering that a new door and opportunity has quietly opened. Each of these is possible because someone decided to hire, someone decided to train, someone decided to show up, or to simply believe in another person. And as a society, I believe we can do more – and we should.
6.Recently, the Taskforce on Assurance for Families with Persons with Disabilities released its recommendations. As a member of the Taskforce, I had many wide-ranging conversations with persons with disabilities, their caregivers, educators, employers and service providers. What came through clearly was that while we have made real progress in strengthening support for persons with disabilities, there is much more that we can still do.
7.Today, I will share some of what we will be doing to strengthen support for persons with disabilities on their journey. The journey will look different for each individual. I mentioned earlier that this community is very diverse, and we want to be able to take a person-centric approach within the SPED graduate community. Some will transition into employment, while others will focus on developing greater independence and participating actively in community services. Regardless of the pathway they take, learning will continue to play an important role at every stage of life for all persons with disabilities.
Building the Foundation for Life in Schools: Education and Transition Support
8.The journey to meaningful employment begins in school long before a person’s first day at work. Confidence, a sense of what one is good at and what one enjoys, and the hard and soft skills needed to do your work well – these are built over years, in classrooms and through hands-on experiences. It doesn’t just spring up the day you are employed.
9.Whether a student with disabilities is in a SPED school, ITE, or polytechnic, we want to be able to support them to learn, grow and pursue their aspirations.
10.Following the recent Taskforce announcements, SPED schools serving students with Autism Spectrum Disorder that offer the national curriculum will be introducing structured applied learning and work exposure to help students develop work-related and soft skills. Students will be supported by school-based job coaches as they gain exposure to the world of work, starting with job tasters and then progressing on to authentic and onsite work experiences across their schooling years. These will all be paced according to each student’s assessed level of readiness. I’ll give you a few examples.
- St. Andrew’s Mission School, for example, is developing a World of Work curriculum for their secondary level students, which includes learning journeys and job tasters. One job taster experience students can look forward to is mushroom cultivation, run in partnership with Mushroom World Academy, to be able to mushroom some of their interests in this field.
- Likewise, Pathlight School is developing a structured “My Future Me” programme, which includes opportunities for students to be exposed to, and practise, job tasks through work simulation sites set up in school or in the community through partnerships. These worksites offer tasters of different industries and can also evolve with industry developments. You see that this is also a programme that takes into account how industries will develop in turn, so that our students too can benefit and keep pace with what is out there.
11.These programmes will help students learn about different jobs and industries, and offer authentic opportunities to develop important work-related skills like self-management and working with others. More importantly, they get to discover their interests and strengths, and in turn, will make for informed future course and career choices. We want every student to leave school not just with knowledge and skills, but with a sense of what they are capable of, and a taste of what working life feels like.
12.As more students with disabilities are progressing to ITE and the polytechnics before they enter the workplace, it is also important that we continue to strengthen their work-readiness, so that they can grow with confidence and fulfil their potential. Building on their strong industry-relevant and hands-on training, our ITE and the polytechnics will also complement this with greater emphasis on workplace and soft skills. Skills such as planning and organising your time, managing your day-to-day work demands, communicating effectively and working with others will help students with disabilities ease into the workplace, feel comfortable in new environments, and ultimately, allow them to showcase their best selves at work.
13.We will work with SG Enable and employment service providers to develop structured programmes that help students progressively build their workplace skills. Beyond internship opportunities, students with disabilities will receive personalised job coaching to support them in this journey.
14.Alongside these moves, MOE has also been working closely with SPED schools that offer a customised curriculum, to also strengthen vocational education, through the Vocational Education Teaching and Learning Syllabus released in 2022, to better prepare students for employment.
15.Building skills is one part of the picture. At the same time, helping individuals better navigate transitions is also important as the transitions between life stages – from SPED schools to ITE or polytechnic, or from education into employment – can be very challenging for some students passing through. For many students with disabilities, more support is required to help them make smoother transitions.
16.We will therefore help PwDs and their families plan better. Students in all SPED schools will receive more targeted guidance through person-centred transition planning for their post-school pathways, be it further study, employment or participation in the community. This will be done through early, well-sequenced guidance to help students and families envision their futures and make informed choices grounded in their interests, strengths as well as their aspirations. Students’ post-school goals will be captured in an Individual Transition Plan, providing a foundation for transition planning that then extends beyond school.
17.We will also strengthen transition support for students progressing from SPED schools to ITE and polytechnics. Today, SPED schools already facilitate learning journeys and transition planning sessions with polytechnics and ITE for graduating students and their families. However, not all students will experience the same level of support as the programmes are conducted on an ad-hoc basis. We are trying to change this.
18.Moving forward, we will formalise the support through a transition support programme. This will include efforts by ITE and polytechnic staff to bring students with disabilities around the campus before their first day of school to familiarise them with key access points such as the student support offices and classrooms. And we hope that this will allow them to build confidence in navigating the school environment well before the campus crowd returns.
19.Be it an employment or a community pathway taken by the SPED graduate, families will be supported by a dedicated care planner in mapping out a personalised plan that builds on the Individual Transition Plan that all SPED students will graduate with. This comes in place as Future Care Planning support is progressively offered at adult disability services.
20.The Future Care Plan will cover key areas of life including finances, housing, relationships, healthcare, and meaningful engagements to support one’s well-being and social connections. It will follow the person across the different life stages, so families do not start from scratch every time circumstances change. Schools, Institutes of Higher Learning, and social services will work more closely and synergistically to ensure that these plans are handed over systematically, so that families receive more seamless support throughout. Our hope is that families feel assured that their life needs are taken care of.
Entering Workforce: Improving Employment Opportunities
21.As we strengthen support in education, we must also build clearer pathways from learning to employment.
22.Education, training and employment should not be separate journeys. Persons with disabilities need stronger bridges between them to understand the options, make informed choices, build relevant skills, and move on to work. One way we are doing this is through SG Enable’s Sector Train-and-Place programme.
23.For some, moving into work takes more than job matching alone. Learning journeys hosted by employers lets participants experience real workplaces, understand the tasks involved for different jobs, and also hear first-hand about the sector and the expectations of the trade. We hope that this helps participants and their families make more informed choices and find a pathway suited to their strengths, interests and support needs.
24.Employers are a key part of the journey from the outset. Insights from employers ensure that training remains closely connected to job opportunities and workplace needs. This guides the support offered by training providers to build vocational and work-readiness skills, and that of employment service providers and job coaches in preparing students for the transition to work.
25.We piloted this approach in the hospitality sector in 2025. Of those assessed to be work-ready upon completing their training, three in four went on to secure employment.
26.We have since expanded Sector Train-and-Place to other sectors this year, including F&B and logistics. Today, I am pleased to announce that Sector Train-and-Place will progressively expand to four more sectors – Info-communications and Technology, Healthcare, Human Resource and Administration. This is only possible with the strong support from the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA), inclusive employers, and our training partners.
27.You will hear more about this later from an employer, a training provider and a job coach who have been part of Sector Train-and-Place programme. They will share what it takes for these different parts of the ecosystem to come together.
Continuing to Learn and Grow: Increasing Access to CET
28.Importantly, our work does not end when someone secures a job; in fact, it is just another beginning. This is because careers can evolve, industries may change, and the need to keep learning never stops. This is no different for persons with disabilities.
29.This is why we are making training more accessible and affordable. We will extend the 95% Course Fee Grant to persons with disabilities enrolling in selected mainstream training courses, on top of what is already available for SG Enable-supported courses – this means more persons with disabilities can upskill alongside their peers, without cost as a barrier.
30.Additionally, getting into a course is but one hurdle crossed; yet being able to learn well in the course itself is another. To address this, we will also support training providers through the Capability Development Grant to ready their educators, learning environments and curricula upfront – so that learners with disabilities can focus on building their skills and not in overcoming other barriers that may be part of this process.
31.We will also strengthen educators who support CET in the disability sector, building on the foundations of the Training and Adult Educator Professional Pathway by the Institute of Adult Learning. The Adult Educator Capability Development Framework will help them deepen expertise and grow professionally, so that at the last mile, learners who may have different needs can still continue to benefit from a good learning experience.
32.Finally, to keep the system responsive, SG Enable has formed the Advisory Committee on CET for Persons with Disabilities, which held its first meeting recently. The committee will help strengthen the quality, the relevance and accessibility of training, so what we offer keeps pace with both the needs of learners and the needs of employers. We will be presenting the members with their certificates of appointment later and I wish to expressly thank them for their very important forward contributions in this advisory committee in the space of inclusion.
Closing
33.So, ladies and gentlemen, what I have shared today are not just structural changes. We are building a lifelong support system for persons with disabilities, from their school years, through further education, and into employment. No single organisation can do this alone.
34.It requires caregivers, employers, sector professionals, training partners, and service providers to come together, so that every person can be supported through each stage of life.
35.Ultimately, this is about the kind of Singapore we want to be able to see for future generations to come – a ‘We-First’ Singapore where everyone, regardless of background or ability can have the opportunities to thrive.
36.Thank you.