Following is a question by the Hon Lillian Kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (February 15):

Question:

     The Rehabilitation Advisory Committee stated in the Persons with Disabilities and Rehabilitation Programme Plan published in June 2020 that promoting employment of persons with disabilities (PWDs) is to encourage them to contribute to the society at different work positions on the basis of their abilities (rather than their disabilities). Regarding the employment support provided by the Government for PWDs, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of PWDs participated in the various programmes implemented to support the employment of PWDs and the number of employment organisations involved, in each of the past five years;

(2) whether it has, in respect of the various aforesaid programmes, arranged dedicated manpower to follow up the situation of the participants, as well as provided them with emotional support and followed up their employment situation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) whether the Government will regularly review and adjust the amount of subsidy under the Support Programme for Employees with Disabilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     My reply to the question raised by the Member is as follows:

(1) The Government is committed to promoting employment of persons with disabilities so that they can take up productive and gainful employment in the open market on the basis of their abilities. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) subsidises non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to implement the Supported Employment, On the Job Training Programme for People with Disabilities and Sunnyway - On the Job Training Programme for Young People with Disabilities to provide persons with disabilities with related vocational training, counselling service and post-placement service and help them to secure jobs. Currently, there are 26, 14 and 15 NGOs providing Supported Employment, On the Job Training Programme for People with Disabilities and Sunnyway - On the Job Training Programme for Young People with Disabilities respectively. The number of persons with disabilities participating in related employment support services in the past five years was as follows:
 

Year	Supported Employment	On the Job Training Programme for People with Disabilities	Sunnyway - On the Job Training Programme for Young People with Disabilities
2017-18	2 001	408	325
2018-19	1 974	436	307
2019-20	2 036	393	301
2020-21	1 987	411	285
2021-22	2 033	427	304

     In 2001, the SWD also set up the "Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through Small Enterprise" Project (3E Project) to provide grants of seed money to subsidise NGOs in setting up social enterprises, in which at least half of their employees must be persons with disabilities, so as to create more work and on-the-job training opportunities for persons with disabilities. The cumulative figure of the businesses subsidised by the 3E Project and employment opportunities created for employees with disabilities in the past five years was as follows:
 

As of end of the following year	Businesses subsidised under 3E Project (cumulative figure) (Note 1)	Employment opportunities created for employees with disabilities (cumulative figure)
2017-18	115	844
2018-19	118	863
2019-20	125	907
2020-21	131	935
2021-22	136	956

Note 1: Number of approved businesses since the implementation of the Project in 2001

     Moreover, the Labour Department (LD) implements the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme (WOPS) to encourage employers to hire persons with disabilities and provide them with on-the-job training and support. Under the WOPS, employers will be granted an on-the-job allowance up to $60,000 for engaging each eligible job seeker with disabilities. The numbers of registered job seekers and placements recorded by the LD as well as the relevant figures under the WOPS from 2018 to 2022 were as follows:
 

Year	Total number of registered job seekers	Total number of placements (Note 2 and 3)	WOPS
			Number of placements	Number of employers involved in placements
2018	2 766	2 219	796	379
2019	2 766	2 213	942	395
2020	2 478	1 741	809	294
2021	2 882	2 375	1 137	426
2022	2 570	2 412	1 228	514

Note 2: Including number of placements under the WOPS
Note 3: The LD does not maintain the total number of employers involved

(2) Having regard to the employment needs of the participants of Supported Employment, On the Job Training Programme for People with Disabilities and Sunnyway - On the Job Training Programme for Young People with Disabilities, the SWD provides them with relevant vocational training, counselling service and post-placement service, and helps those participants in need of support to seek suitable jobs. Starting from 2018-19, the post-placement services for the above three services have been extended to 12 months to enhance continuous support for employment of persons with disabilities.

     For businesses funded by the 3E Project, the SWD will monitor each against the stated milestones, including the ratio of employees with disabilities employed as pledged in the application. The SWD will conduct scheduled visits and interviews with employees with disabilities and receive regular progress reports submitted by the businesses to understand the employment situation of the employees with disabilities.

     The Selective Placement Division of the LD provides personalised employment services, including employment counselling, job matching and referral, for job seekers with disabilities who are fit for open employment. Upon placing job seekers with disabilities into employment, the employment consultants of the Selective Placement Division will provide follow-up service for at least six months to help them settle in their new jobs. The LD also implements the Counselling Scheme for Persons with Disabilities, under which registered social workers of the engaged NGOs provide psychological and emotional counselling service to job seekers with disabilities when needed.

(3) The SWD has launched the Support Programme for Employees with Disabilities (SPED) since June 2013 to provide employers of persons with disabilities with a one-off subsidy in respect of each employee with disabilities for procurement of assistive devices and/or workplace modifications to facilitate employees with disabilities in discharging their duties at the workplace and enhance their work efficiency.

     During the initial implementation stage of the SPED, each employer could apply for a subsidy up to $20,000 in respect of each employee with disabilities. In April 2014, the SWD enhanced the SPED by raising the maximum support level to $40,000 for procurement of a single assistive device and its essential accessories. In 2019, the SWD conducted a comprehensive review on the SPED, with a view to strengthening support to employees with disabilities and their employers and announced in March 2020 that the maximum level of support for the SPED was raised to $40,000 for each employee with disabilities for procurement of assistive devices and/or workplace modifications to better meet the needs of employees with disabilities in discharging their duties at the workplace and enhance their work efficiency. The SWD will timely review the SPED, including the vetting procedures, level of subsidies, etc., in order to provide applicants with appropriate assistance.

Ends/Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Issued at HKT 11:05

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