Highlights of the Year 2021-22

“Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through Small Enterprise” Project
The “Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through Small Enterprise Project” (3E Project) aims at increasing the employment opportunities of PWDs through direct creation of jobs. It provides NGOs with seed money to create small businesses under the condition that PWDs should account for at least 50% of the entire staff on payroll. As at 31 March 2022, 136 businesses including cleaning services, food and beverage, eco-tourism, car beauty services, massage services provided by visually impaired persons, retail services, vegetable supply and processing, etc. were set up with the support of the 3E Project, creating 1 362 jobs, including 956 for PWDs.

Support Programme for Employees with Disabilities
The Support Programme for Employees with Disabilities was launched in June 2013. It provided employers of PWDs with a one-off subsidy of up to $20,000 for each employee with disabilities for the procurement of assistive devices and/or workplace modifications to facilitate the work and enhance the productivity of employees with disabilities. With a view to enhancing the support for employees with disabilities and their employers, enhancement measures were introduced in March 2020 following a comprehensive review of the Programme. The maximum level of support for each employee with disabilities has since been raised from $20,000 to $40,000. As at 31 March 2022, the Programme granted some $4.45 million to the employers of 261 PWDs for procurement of assistive devices and/or workplace modifications.

Marketing Consultancy Office (Rehabilitation)
The objective of the Marketing Consultancy Office (Rehabilitation) [MCO(R)] is to enhance employment and training opportunities for PWDs through innovative, effective and efficient business development and marketing approaches. Services of the MCO(R) include assisting NGOs in setting up social enterprises and small businesses under the 3E Project, promoting PWDs’ products and services under the brand “Let Them Shine”, and strengthening NGOs’ co-operation with the Government and private sectors.

Central Fund for Personal Computers
The Central Fund for Personal Computers was set up in 1997 to assist eligible PWDs in acquiring computer facilities for self-employment or receiving supported employment service at home. As at 31 March 2022, the Fund granted a total of $4.99 million to 391 applicants.

IT Scheme for People with Visual Impairment
To continue to encourage people with visual impairment (PVI) to gain access to information technology for social inclusion, SWD has renamed the “Jockey Club IT Scheme for People with Visual Impairment” to “IT Scheme for People with Visual Impairment” in 27 January 2021. The Scheme aims at supporting non-governmental and non-profit-making organisations, as well as tertiary institutions providing social or educational services for PVI to acquire advanced Chinese screen readers, Braille displays and accessories to facilitate PVI’s surfing on the Internet; and subsidising individual PVI with genuine financial difficulty to purchase these devices for study or employment purposes. As at 31 March 2022, three organisational and 20 individual applications were approved, involving a subsidy of $0.62 million.