KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 75,494 disabled job seekers have been employed under the Human Resources Ministry’s Return To Work (RTW) programme from 2020 till Feb 21, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Mohamad said Monday (March 3) that RTW is a disability management programme that helps contributors who are injured or suffering from illness recover and return to work.
For this year, Rahman said 4,928 job seekers have been employed as of Feb 21.
He said RTW is among the ministry's numerous initiatives to help the disabled find employment.
Other initiatives include the MYFutureJobs satellite centre in Bangi, the Warisan Anak Selangor Foundation and targeted job carnivals for the disabled.
At the same time, Rahman said his ministry also has an upskilling initiative under the Madani training programme that equips participants with basic skills.
“Up to December, a total of 1,915 have joined the persons with disabilities (PWD) development (programmes),” he added.
Datuk Adnan Abu Hassan (BN-Kuala Pilah) had asked about strategies to help the disabled get jobs.
Rahman also said the ministry, through the Skills Development Department, has accredited 1,582 centres across Malaysia, with 922 accepting trainees with disabilities.
“Of the total, seven certified centres are dedicated entirely to disabled trainees," he added.
He said the Skills Development Department registered 1,724 disabled persons and accredited over 2,100 trainees from 2020 to last year.
The ministry, though the Labour Department, also assists disabled students by providing training, tuition fee exemptions and assistance of RM300 per month, he said.
"(From 2020 to last year), 245 disabled students of various categories were trained at the Labour Department Training Institution in graphic design technology, electronics and mechatronics," he added.
