Daily Briefing: 26,000 SG employers gained from the Jobs Growth Incentive as of October 2020; More elderly HDB residents prefer to age in place

And Singapore-based startups that are building solutions for people with disabilities.

From HumanResourcesOnline:

About 26,000 employers in Singapore were benefitting from the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) in October 2020, just two months into the programme's implementation.

According to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Manpower, as of September 2020, 14,000 or so employers qualified for the JGI whilst an additional about 11,000 new employers became eligible in October 2020.

A majority of all eligible employers hired one to two local workers. About 20% of the eligible employers hired 5 local workers or more.

Overall, over 110,000 new local hires received support under the scheme in October 2020—double the number as compared to the inaugural month.

Read more here.

From PropertyGuru:

A Housing and Development Board (HDB) survey showed that more elderly households prefer to grow older in their current homes.

Conducted in 2018, the latest Sample Household Survey polled nearly 8,000 households across all HDB estates. It is conducted once every five years with the aim of gathering feedback on public housing as well as residents’ changing needs and expectations.

The survey found that the number of elderly residents who plan to continue living in their present flats increased to 86% in 2018 from 80% in 2013.

This comes as they “found it comfortable or had an emotional attachment to it, having developed fond memories of the time spent with their family in the flat,” said HDB.

Read more here.

From e27:

The Southeast Asian tech startup ecosystem can play a crucial role in building a more inclusive society for people with disabilities through the innovation that they create. By helping people with disabilities and their caregiver perform their daily routine, startups are even able to help them seize opportunities that are otherwise barred from them.

In order to achieve that goal, collaboration with different parties is encouraged to help startups access their potential users—and get a better understanding of their needs.

SG Enable, a Singapore government agency that is dedicated to enabling persons with disabilities and building an inclusive society, is an example of an institution that includes working with startups in their activities.

“A key area of SG Enable’s work is to raise awareness about assistive technology and its affordances, as well as support innovations for persons with disabilities because technology is a key enabler for persons with disabilities to learn, work, and live independently,” explained Ron Loh, director, enablers development, SG Enable.

Read more here.