SG Enable establishes Enabling Academy — a new disability learning hub for persons with disabilities and their network of support

Singapore, 20 MAY 2022 - SG Enable, the focal agency for the disability sector in Singapore, launched Enabling Academy today, a new disability learning hub that rallies partners from the education, business and disability sectors to provide responsive and quality learning opportunities for persons with disabilities, and to enable their network of support through training.

Enabling Academy was officially launched by Mr Eric Chua, Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth, and Social and Family Development. It aims to bring fresh ideas and build capabilities in the training space to:

1. Provide diverse lifelong learning opportunities for persons with disabilities that support them in their personal growth and professional development
2. Upskill the network of support – including employers, disability employment professionals such as job coaches, caregivers and volunteers – around persons with disabilities
3. Facilitate the practice of accessibility and inclusion among training providers
   

Enabling Academy will coordinate efforts in the disability learning space to achieve our shared vision of an inclusive society and enabled lives. Enabling Academy plays a crucial role in enabling persons with disabilities to maximise their potential, and its focus on enabling their network of support and equipping training providers with accessibility knowledge and skills will further advance inclusion in Singapore’s development of our human capital.

Mr Moses Lee, Chairman, SG Enable, said: “I am proud that we have embarked on the journey of building upon existing training efforts to ensure persons with disabilities are not left behind. The launch of Enabling Academy is a significant milestone in the journey towards realising our vision of building an inclusive society and enabled lives. We believe training opportunities for everyone in Singapore can serve as the catalyst for inclusion, and want to tap on the power of learning to help our nation be a more inclusive society.”

Learning Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities

For a start, Enabling Academy has curated more than 110 accessible training courses for persons with disabilities in areas such as information and communications technology – including digital marketing, and mobile and web development – accounting, administration, early childhood development, human resources and logistics. Enabling Academy also aims to provide diverse lifelong learning opportunities for persons with disabilities in areas such as time management and cooking. The Academy will also develop workshops for organisations at different levels of readiness of inclusive hiring, ranging from introductory courses providing a basic understanding of the different disability profiles and how to interact with persons with disabilities, to more advanced topics such as workplace accessibility and the use of assistive technology. Training for disability employment professionals is also available.

To cater to trainees’ different learning preferences, training will be delivered in multiple formats, including self-paced courses, virtual and in-person talks, workshops and Communities of Practice.  

The lifelong learning journey of persons with disabilities will be underpinned by the Enabling Skills Framework. The framework will help persons with disabilities chart their lifelong learning journey, and will recommend skills and courses to enhance their opportunities for participation in social and community life, as well as in employment. More information about the Enabling Skills Framework will be shared in 2023.

Building Partnerships

Enabling Academy will establish partnerships with mainstream training providers and social service agencies to leverage their different knowledge and expertise, in the delivery of diverse and quality training courses. For example, it has partnered Google to extend the Google Career Certificates Scholarship to persons with disabilities, and it is one of VMware’s industry partners for VMware Aurora – a programme which provides free training in digital skills to improve the employability of persons with disabilities.

Enabling Academy is supported by Tote Board, SkillsFuture Singapore, Workforce Singapore and Ministry of Social and Family Development.

For more information on Enabling Academy, please visit https://www.enablingacademy.sg