Adapting workforce culture to the new normal

Source: Microsoft. Digital transformation requires change both externally and internally.

The changing face of Singapore’s workforce has resulted in a need for organisations to foster a new culture of work to achieve digital transformation success, a Microsoft study* has concluded. In fact, 77% polled felt that more can be done by their organisations to invest in culture development.

The Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study found the following factors influencing the culture of work in Singapore today:

Increasingly mobile workforce and exposure to new security risks

The rise of mobility and proliferation of mobile and cloud technologies have resulted in individuals working across multiple locations and devices. In fact, the study found that only 38% of respondents are spending all of their work hours in the office, and 84% of respondents are working off personal smartphones. The latter raises new security challenges for organisations.

The rise of diverse teams

The research also found that 26% of workers in Singapore are already working in more than 10 teams at any one point in time. This makes the availability of real-time insights and collaboration tools crucial to get work done.

Gaps in employees’ digital skills even as leaders are in the process of embracing digital transformation

As the bar is raised with new technologies adopted across industries, deployment is uneven. In fact, 74% of respondents feel that more can be done to bridge the digital skills gap among workers.

Said Borko Kovacevic, Director, Productivity Solutions, Microsoft Singapore: “The rise of digital technologies, along with a new generation of Millennials entering the workforce, has brought about a need to address changing workers’ expectations, knowledge and skills, as well as the tools they use. And with more than half of the world’s Millennials residing in Asia, the workplace will need to transform to adapt to the technology habits of these digital natives. In addition, due to deployment of advanced and emerging technologies, organisations need to relook at reskilling its workforce to develop creative and strategic skills for the future.”

Even as 75% of business leaders in Singapore acknowledge the need to transform into a digital business in order to succeed**, successful digital transformation will ultimately depend on people and the tools they are provided with.

“People are at the heart of digital transformation. Their expectations, knowledge and skills, as well as the tools they use for work, are determining factors in the level of transformation that any organisation can achieve. The challenge that they face now is how to implement new ways to foster a modern culture of work to better empower Asia’s workers, especially those at the frontline. By estimates, there are 2 billion firstline workers globally, and make up majority of our workforce today,” said Kovacevic.

Firstline workers serve as the initial point of contact between companies and the rest of the world - they are first to engage customers, represent brand, and see products and services in action, Microsoft said. The company suggests unlocking the potential of employees, organisations need to address and elevate their workforce, especially firstline workers, through addressing the core values of the new culture of work: 

Unlocking employees’ creativity

Collaboration fuels innovation through sharing of ideas and enables flexibility in how people work through a connected experience, while working seamlessly across devices. However, the Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study found that majority of respondents feel restricted in the way they work today, with 58% highlighting that they needed to be physically present in office as equipment or tools used for their line of work is only available in the workplace.

Fuelling teamwork

By giving all workers a universal toolkit for collaboration, organisations offer its people choice and ownership as to how they work together and collaborate in real-time. In fact, the Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study found that two in five workers highlighted that access to technology for collaboration such that they can respond in a timely manner to internal and external requests was important in their line of work. 

Strengthening security

Today, 61% of respondents are working on employer-issued PCs, but 84% are also working on personal smartphones or using corporate devices for personal activities, which underscores potential security risks. In fact, 66% of respondents admitted to checking personal emails on company-issued devices, and are doing so for the convenience. Therefore, leaders need to strengthen their security not to put organisation’s confidential data at risk to address the need for workers to work without barriers and without impeding productivity. 

Making it simpler

With the rise of apps, devices, services and security risks in the workplace, there is a need to streamline the IT management, break down service siloes so that disparate data can be combined and reasoned in new ways and reduce complexity. In fact, a Microsoft Asia Pacific IT leaders study*** found that 72% of IT decision makers (ITDMs) in Singapore agreed that there is a need to reduce complexity of managing their existing IT security portfolio.

“We believe that every worker – from the factory floor to the front desk, to the executive boardroom – can contribute to an organisation’s collective endeavours. It is our view that involving firstline workers in digital transformation will drive unprecedented opportunity – for workers, the organisations that they work for, and the industries and society at large,” added Kovacevic. “At Microsoft, we see the opportunities that can be unlocked with technology by equipping frontline workers with the right tools, such as Microsoft 365. Ultimately, digital transformation projects can only succeed if the right tools are in place for workers to leverage and maximise upon.”

Microsoft has been diversifying the Microsoft 365 family to address workforce challenges with Microsoft 365 F1, a version of Microsoft 365 which provides purpose-built capabilities that help foster firstline culture and community, train and upskill employees, digitise business process, deliver real-time expertise, and minimise risk and cost. New intelligent search capabilities, a vision for intelligent communications centring on Microsoft Teams, and security and IT management enhancements to help customers stay secure and compliant were also introduced at Ignite:

- Microsoft 365 F1 brings together Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security to empower the more than two billion firstline workers worldwide, who serve as the first point of contact between a company and its customers, or who are directly involved in making products.

- A new vision for intelligent communications, including plans to bring Skype for Business Online capabilities into Microsoft Teams, along with cognitive and data services. This makes Teams the true hub for teamwork in Office 365, including persistent chat, voice and video.

- Intelligent search experiences use AI and machine learning to deliver more relevant search results across Microsoft 365.

- Microsoft 365 is delivering improved advanced threat protection (ATP) features like enhanced anti-phishing capabilities, expanded protection to SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Teams and integration between cloud and on premises identity threat detection capabilities.

- For organisations still on Office 2007, end of support will happen on 11 October. Customers who are still using Office 2007 products and services are encouraged to move to Office 365 or Microsoft 365 to stay supported, and ensure uninterrupted support from Microsoft.

Kovacevic said: “With cloud-based productivity tools being a key pick among Asia’s mobile workers to drive greater collaboration among teams, we urge organisations to take the opportunity to evaluate Microsoft 365 as an option to modernise their workforce.”

Source: Microsoft. Infographic illustrating findings of the Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study,

Interested?

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about the Ignite announcements

*Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study, conducted between February and March 2017 involving 4.175 respondents in 14 Asia markets. The 14 markets include Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. All respondents were prequalified as at least spending 30 hours per week in a full-time role, or spending at least 20 hours per week in a part time role. This included 307 respondents from Singapore.

**Microsoft Asia Digital Transformation Study. The study surveyed 1,494 business leaders from Asia, including 118 from Singapore. All respondents were prequalified as being involved in shaping their organisations’ digital strategy. The study found that only 34% of business leaders in Singapore have a full digital transformation strategy while half are in progress with specific digital transformation initiatives for selected parts of their business. Another 16% of respondents said they had a very limited or no strategy in place.

***Microsoft Asia Pacific survey of 1,200 IT leaders across 12 markets, including Australia, mainland China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Four in 10 (41%) of respondents are working in organisations with 250 to 499 PCs; 59% work in organisations with 500 and more PCs.

Generational differences at the workplace dissected in new e-book series

Source: Universum. Cover for Brave New Workplace.

The INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute has released Brave New Workplace, the first of three new Generations Series e-books in collaboration with employer branding specialist Universum, Singapore-based think tank The HEAD Foundation and MIT Leadership Centre.

As organisations seek to optimise the work environment and policies for multigenerational workforces, generational differences may play a significant part - or they may not. Focusing on the behaviours and attitudes of Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z, Brave New Workplace explores how these three generations are reshaping the nature of work and workplace culture.

Growing up digital, say some, has so influenced younger generations that it has given them a permanently different outlook than their older peers. Gen X says Gen Y cling to childhood even as adults. Millennials (Gen Y) characterise their Gen X peers as nihilistic and disdainful. Neither has fully formed their opinions about Gen Z, who are on the cusp of entering the workforce.

“Regardless of opinion about the members of this age group, the inclusion of Gen Z in to the labour market will initiate a new era in workplace culture; their presence will disrupt the nature of work as we know it today and therefore understanding the new multigenerational workforce must not be treated as an afterthought,” said Universum CEO, Petter Nylander. He continued “Gen Z are set to account for around 20% of the adult workforce by 2020, knowing how to harmonise and steer a workplace that includes these three generations should be a top priority for any employer.”

The research questions these generalisations. Are younger generations truly so different? Or is it possible that as they age and gain experience at work, they begin to behave a lot like their older peers? Based on a survey of over 18,000 students and professionals from 19 countries – spanning Gen Xers who’ve been in the workplace for two decades to Gen Z students – Brave New Workplace can now share data about preferred work styles, leadership qualities, and hopes and fears about future careers.

“Today’s workplace is an interesting assortment of multigenerational values, approaches to technology, leadership styles and workplace preferences. Through this global study spanning the three generations, we seek to understand how each group can best be motivated, managed, led and encouraged to lead, for optimal results,” said Henrik Bresman, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour; Academic Director, INSEAD Global Leadership Centre; Senior Advisor, The HEAD Foundation. 

“This study shows that as far as the need to identify with a company’s culture and values, there is no perceptible difference between the three generations. On the other hand, in terms of whether they have an optimistic or pessimistic outlook towards their work, there is a clear generational divide.”

Vinika Rao, Executive Director of INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute, added, “One dimension that demonstrates both a clear generational divide as well as a geographical one is the aspect of challenges that women face at work. Organisations therefore need to avoid overgeneralisations such as blanket initiatives targeting women. Managing a multigenerational, diverse workforce entails a careful study of how workplace measures are perceived by different employees.” 

Interested?

Download the Brave New Workplace e-book

Two more e-books are in the pipeline. Focusing on the topics of technology and leadership, these eBooks will be released in the coming months and include research that not only offers insights about the preferences and values of individual generations, but also point to how employers can integrate and manage a multigenerational workforce. 

CEOs have to take charge of reskilling their workforces: Accenture

Source: Accenture website. The top skills required to stay relevant at work in the next five years include technical skills, adaptability and problem-solving capabilities.

A new report* by Accenture Strategy cautions that in a rapidly changing digital landscape, CEOs must lead the charge in reskilling their people to be relevant in the future and ready to adapt to change.

According to the report, Harnessing Revolution: Creating the Future Workforce, CEOs must put their people first and at the centre of change to create the future workforce.

The stakes are high for businesses, workers and society as a whole. Development of human skills such as leadership, critical thinking and creative skills, as well as emotional intelligence, would reduce job losses due to total automation considerably. The survey of 10,527 working people in ten countries, including Australia, India, Japan and Turkey, coupled with Accenture Strategy modelling show that if the rate at which workers build relevant skills is doubled, the share of jobs at risk of total automation would be reduced.

“Paradoxically, the truly human skills, from leadership to creativity, will remain highly relevant and winning organisations will strike the right balance — leveraging the best of technology to elevate, not eliminate their people,” said Ellyn Shook, Chief Leadership and Human Resources Officer, Accenture. “Not only are workers optimistic, but they understand they must learn new skills. Digital can accelerate learning by embedding training seamlessly into daily work — so learning becomes a way of life — helping workers and organisations remain relevant.”

Fully 84% of workers surveyed are optimistic about the impact of digital on their job. More than two-thirds think that technologies such as robots, data analytics and artificial intelligence will help them be more efficient (74%), learn new skills (73%) and improve the quality of their work (66%).

Eighty-seven percent of these working people expect parts of their job to be automated in the next five years, ranging from 93% of Millennials to 79% of baby boomers. Of those who expect automation, 80% anticipate more opportunities than challenges in how automation will impact their work experiences in the next five years.

Additional Accenture research shows that artificial intelligence alone has the potential to double the annual economic growth rates and boost labour productivity by up to 40% by 2035 in the 12 developed countries examined.

Additionally, the values of today’s workforce will require leaders to respond with a different range of rewards, benefits and support. According to modelling undertaken by Accenture Strategy and Gallup, non-financial factors, such as well-being, engagement, quality of life and status are equal, if not more important to workers than income and benefits.

“Creating the future workforce now is the responsibility of every CEO. Those leaders who make their people a strategic business priority and understand the urgency of this challenge will be the ones that make the greatest gains in growth and innovation,” said Mark Knickrehm, Group Chief Executive, Accenture Strategy.

To help leaders navigate and shape the future workforce, Accenture Strategy has the following recommendations:

· Accelerate reskilling: From top to bottom, invest in technical and more human skills involving creativity and judgment, taking advantage of the fact that 85% of workers are ready to invest their free time in the next six months to learn new skills.

Scale reskilling by using digital technology. This can include wearable technologies, such as smart glasses that provide technical advice and information as workers carry out tasks. It can also include intelligent software to personalise training that offers recommendations to support an individual’s lifelong learning needs.

· Redesign work to unlock human potential: Co-create role-based, gig-like employment opportunities to satisfy workers’ demands for more varied work and flexible arrangements. Develop platforms through which a range of resources and services can be offered to employees and freelancers alike in order to create a compelling community that keeps top talent loyal.

· Strengthen the talent pipeline from its source: Address industry-wide skills shortages by supporting longer term, collective solutions. These include public private partnerships designed to create a broad adoption of skills training. Work with the education sector to design curricula that develop relevant skills at the beginning of the talent supply chain.

*Accenture combined quantitative and qualitative research techniques in order to analyse how responsive and responsible leadership could help create the future workforce. The research programme is built on three pillars of a survey, econometric modelling and an index, complemented by secondary research and interviews with experts from universities, startups, large corporations and government organisations.

The online survey was conducted in the US, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Italy, India, Japan and Turkey of 10,527 workers across skill levels and generations between November 26 and December 9, 2016.

Singapore Workforce Development Agency, SCALA offer logistics reskilling initiative

The Logistics Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) was launched today by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and Supply Chain and Logistics Academy (SCALA) to reskill professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) who are keen to join the industry.

The Logistics PCP presents opportunities for both new entrants and existing logistics professionals to widen and deepen their skills for career growth in the industry. It offers 150 vacancies for PMETs for job roles as Logistics Officers and Logistics Executives over the next two years. The PCP will commence in July and is a key component of the Adapt and Grow initiative.

With better integrated systems and improved technology, the nature of jobs in the logistics industry has evolved and more high-tech skills are required as PMETs will need to manage multiple tracking systems that can be located regionally or even globally. With the launch of the Logistics PCP these PMETs will be equipped with skillsets in supply chain operations management, preparing them for new roles in areas such as freight forwarding, fleet operations management, supply chain operations, warehouse and storage supply chain. SCALA is the appointed programme partner for the Logistics PCP.

Chief Executive of WDA Ng Cher Pong said, “The logistics industry is constantly innovating to become more efficient and responsive to industry needs. As the industry evolves, new processes will be developed, and correspondingly, job roles will become more sophisticated and challenging. WDA will work with SCALA to ensure that relevant programmes are developed in tandem with industry growth and expectations. Reskilling is key to ensure that PMETs who are keen to join the industry are equipped to take on these new job roles.”

The PCP will comprise facilitated classroom sessions, customised structured on-the-job-training (OJT) and a mentorship programme.

For the OJT, SCALA will provide practical hands-on training complemented by a real-time operation environment where decisions and solutions are implemented based on real-life workplace issues. For the mentorship, SCALA will roll out the Train-the-Mentor programme which will equip experienced employees within the company with mentoring skills and knowledge to effectively coach the PCP trainees.

The SCALA Board of Advisors, appointed today, are industry practitioners who will provide leadership guidance and support on the development of training programmes and activities for the logistics and supply chain professionals.

“SCALA will play a key role in developing and empowering talents within Singapore's rapidly developing supply chain and logistics industries, ultimately enhancing the country’s position as a leading global supply chain hub. It will create a platform for the mastery of key skills through a practitioner based training methodology, offer practical and forward looking learning and skills acquisition opportunities, and provide the opportunity for those who enter the industry to excel in their career and personal development. YCH has committed to support SCALA by providing mentors in an advanced training environment, as well as hire 20% of trainees," said Dr Robert Yap, Founding Chairman of the Board for SCALA, and Chairman, YCH Group.

Ten companies have already come on board the programme and these companies will offer over 60 of the 150 vacancies for PMETs.

posted from Bloggeroid

Mercer sounds alarm over under-representation of women in the workforce globally

Source: Mercer When Women Thrive global report.

Women are under-represented in the workforce globally, and if organisations maintain the current rate of progress, female representation will only account for 40% of the professional and managerial ranks in 2025, according to Mercer’s second annual When Women Thrive global report.

Among the key trends revealed in the report is that women’s representation within organisations actually declines as career levels rise – from support staff through the executive level.

“The traditional methods of advancing women aren’t moving the needle, and under-representation of women around the world has become an economic and social travesty,” said Pat Milligan, Mercer’s Global Leader of When Women Thrive. “While leaders have been focusing on women at the top, they’re largely ignoring the female talent pipelines so critical to maintaining progress.

“This is a call-to-action - every organisation has a choice to stay with the status quo or drive their growth, communities and economies through the power of women.”

Mercer’s report finds that although women are 1.5 times more likely than men to be hired at the executive level, they are also leaving organisations from the highest rank at 1.3 times the rate of men, undermining gains at the top.

Source: Mercer When Women Thrive global report. Current and projected female representation in 2025 at 2015 attrition rates around the world.

According to the When Women Thrive report, women make up 40% of the average company’s workforce. Globally, they represent 33% of managers, 26% of senior managers, and 20% of executives. In terms of regional rankings, Australia and New Zealand is projected to move from 35% in 2015 to 40% in 2025; and Asia ranks last at 28%, up from just 25% in 2015.

“In 10 years, organisations won’t even be close to gender equality in most regions of the world,” said Milligan. “If CEOs want to drive their growth tomorrow through diversity, they need to take action today.”

The research – the most comprehensive of its kind featuring input from nearly 600 organisations around the world, employing 3.2 million people, including 1.3 million women – identifies a host of key drivers known to improve diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts.

“It’s not enough to create a band-aid programme,” said Brian Levine, Mercer’s Innovation Leader, Global Workforce Analytics. “Most companies aren’t focused on the complete talent pipeline nor are they focused on the supporting practices and cultural change critical to ensure that women will be successful in their organisations.”

Only 9% of organisations surveyed globally offer women-focused retirement and savings programmes, despite Mercer’s research proving that such efforts lead to greater representation of women.

Other key findings:

Only 57% of organisations claim senior leaders are engaged in diversity and inclusion initiatives

Involvement of men has actually dropped since the first report in 2014, when 49% of organisations said they are engaged in D&I efforts

Just 29% of organisations review performance ratings by gender with Australia/New Zealand ranking first

Four in 10 organisations offer formal pay equity remediation processes, compared to 34% globally, and 25% in Asia. But virtually no improvements have been made since 2014

Nearly a third (28%) of women hold P&L (profit and loss) roles with Asia at No. 2 (27%), and Australia/New Zealand in third place (25%)

Women are perceived to have unique skills needed in today’s market including flexibility and adaptability (39% vs. 20% who say men have those strengths); inclusive team management (43% vs. 20%); and emotional intelligence (24% vs. 5%)

About half of organisations in three key regions – Asia, US/Canada and Latin America – agree that supporting women’s health is important to attract and retain women. Yet only 22% conduct analyses to identify gender-specific health needs in the workforce

In a series of separate studies Mercer has found that clients find that building their leadership pipeline is one of their biggest challenges, and included a lack of plans to develop women in their workforce for leadership as one of the problems in talent management strategies. 

Said Kate Bravery, Mercer’s Growth Markets Leadership & Organizational Performance Practice Leader: “To achieve long term success, a more strategic approach to nurturing the pipeline of leaders is required. This starts by translating core business objectives into a leadership strategy that defines the talent pool, competencies and the tactics required to build leaders from within. It continues with an execution plan that helps businesses identify, develop and accelerate the critical talent moves that will help them achieve real competitive advantage.”

Mercer’s Leadership Practices Study comprises a series of research reports based on surveys conducted from 2012 to 2014 that explore and compare current leadership trends in Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. Using data gathered from nearly 1,000 companies across the three growth market regions, these studies examine how companies approach leadership strategy, assessment, development and succession planning.found that companies in growth market regions are adopting effective practices for nurturing leadership talent, for example:

· Businesses in Asia-Pacific are investing heavily in training and developing senior level and global leaders at the top of their organisations.

· Firms in the Middle East are doing a good job of using global leadership capability models to help with talent development and creating opportunities for international assignments to which any employee can apply.

However, the studies also identified critical gaps in current planning that potentially limit organisations’ ability to produce the multi-skilled leaders required in modern, rapidly-growing businesses, as well as differences in the leadership competencies that are deemed critical for success by companies in each region.

Key findings included:

· Companies can do more to plan and prepare for the next generation of leaders – fewer than half of those companies responding conduct regular pipeline projections, very few have specific plans for developing key segments of their workforce (e.g. women or grooming local talent) and even fewer have metrics for tracking progress on pipeline management.

· Many businesses are not effectively identifying who is ready for the next move or position within their leadership pipeline – 15% of businesses in Asia Pacific and just 6% in the Middle East report that they have strong, “ready-now” successors in place for critical leadership roles.

· Companies are spending less annually per person on training and developing middle level and frontline leaders than they do on global or senior level leaders. Fewer than 20% of companies in the Middle East are spending US$5,000 or more per person each year to develop their youngest future leaders. In Asia-Pacific, under-investment is even starker, with just 5% of companies achieving this level of spending for individuals at the earliest stage of the pipeline – the next generation of leaders.

· Companies view a leader’s ability to ‘create strategy’ as one of the most critical competencies for leadership success – 64% of companies in Middle East and 36% in Asia Pacific prioritise strategic competencies above other operational, people or personal capabilities.

Highlights for Asia Pacific:

· While leadership development strategies are in place in many organisations, execution remains a significant problem as performance management processes are not effectively identifying who is ready for the next move or position within their leadership pipeline.

· Systems and processes for executing talent management processes are extremely inefficient, still relying on paper-based and email resources.

· Organisations are not focusing leadership development efforts on women as a segment, despite women making up a small percentage of senior management in organisations.

· Companies continue to rely on expatriates, rather than local talent, for top leadership roles, calling into question the effectiveness of leadership development and localization strategies.

· Investment in leadership development is concentrated on top-level leaders, organisations need to also reach deeper and earlier into their leadership pipelines to build talent from within.

· Leaders and managers are not being held accountable for grooming future leadership talent.

· People-related competencies are not among those seen as most critical by organisations for leadership success.

· There is a disconnect between the development methods rated most effective by respondents (“stretch” assignments) and those methods that are most widely used such as classroom training and individual development plans.

Highlights for Middle East

· Half of the companies have defined leadership development strategies in place, although this is more likely in larger organisations.

· Those organisations without a defined leadership development strategy are often reliant on buy/borrow talent strategies.

· The short-term focus of companies jeopardises their ability to build strong leadership pipelines.

· Organisations are missing some critical infrastructure to support leadership development.

· Many companies recognise the lack of attention paid by organisations and top executives to leadership development.

· Companies are relying on traditional methods such as classroom training to develop talent and leadership expertise and these are not proving to be effective in nurturing future leaders.

· Key talent pools are under-represented in leadership positions and often overlooked in talent development programmes, including local staff and women.

Interested?

Access the report summary for When Women Thrive

Getting people with disabilities off the training treadmill and into real jobs

People with disabilities should not be trained for the sake of training, with no jobs in sight, but placed where they can learn on-the-job. In a speech titled Best Practices of Employers in Supported Employment for Persons with Disabilities, Christy Lynch, Chief Executive Officer, KARE Ireland, an organisation which provides support to people who have an intellectual disability and their families, advocated working with people with disabilities and employers to ensure that there is real empowerment.

Speaking at Towards an Inclusive Workforce 2015, an event jointly organised by SPD, and supported by SG Enable and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), Lynch noted that the reality of people with disabilities is that they are disconnected from the labour market and typically do not get the opportunity to go to work. Regular supported employment is attainable, he said.

"The problem is – not was – that lots of people do lots of training and never get to the labour market," he noted, pointing out that many people with disabilities are still stuck in less desirable options of sheltered workshops - a daily programme - and vocational training centres.

While many believe that the severely disabled cannot work, Lynch gave real-life examples of people who have done just that with regular supported employment, with job responsibilities matched to their abilities. "Employers don't hear the success stories," he said.

Supported employment enables individuals with disabilities to be employed in real jobs in regular settings where training and other supports are provided on an ongoing basis, Lynch explained. Kare negotiates with employers on what a disabled person may need to learn to fulfil the requirements of the job, and assigns a job coach to work with the person to ensure that he or she can do the job to the standard that the employer requires.

There may be physical adaptations required for the workplace, and the disabled person may need to learn social skills appropriate for the corporate culture, Lynch noted. Many people may fit the job requirements, but need help on the logistics, such as how to get to the workplace, he added.

Misconceptions with the practice are that employers may think disabled people are a source of cheap labour, or that they create a token job that would not have existed otherwise, Lynch cautioned. "It's about real wages and benefits," he said.

Another misconception is that the support for supported employment stops once the disabled person has been successfully placed in the job. Problems can crop up years later, requiring the support organisation to step in again, Lynch said.

"No two people are the same so no support package is the same," he said. "You have to tailor this to the individual."

The fifth Towards an Inclusive Workforce 2015 was held in conjunction with the 2015 Microsoft YouthSpark Scholarship Award Ceremony, which offers financial support to students with disabilities studying in IT-related disciplines. Over 100 participants comprising employers and representatives from institutes of higher learning attended the event at the NTUC Business Centre.

“People with disabilities have work potential. When given the opportunity, job accommodation and support, they too can contribute to the economic growth of Singapore. We are encouraged by the help of Microsoft Singapore in supporting the IT-related aspirations of students with disabilities, and our partners SG Enable and WDA in advancing the employment of people with disabilities, and hope that inclusive hiring will become second nature, and not initiated as a corporate social responsibility exercise,” said Abhimanyau Pal, Executive Director, SPD.

Interested?

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about the Microsoft YouthSpark Scholarships for 2015

Epson introduces three business inkjets with versatile connectivity and capacity features

Source: Epson. The WorkForce
WF-2661.

Epson, a digital imaging and printing solutions provider, has introduced three new business inkjet models in Singapore to serve the SOHO and office environment.

Designed to save desktop space and lower printing costs, the ultra-compact Epson WorkForce series features automatic document feeders (ADFs) and Epson Connect, which allows users to print using their mobile devices.

The new WorkForce series of printers offer easy and flexible shared printing through Wi-Fi, while the added advantage of Wi-Fi Direct means that the printer can connect to up to four devices without the need for a router. Users are also able to access Epson Connect, which offers:

· iPrint (printing and scanning to and from mobile devices)

· Email print (sending documents to an email from which the printer will print)

· Remote print (printing by sending documents through the Internet)

Other cloud printing services these new all-in-one printers are capable of include
Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print.

Equipped with a built-in LCD screen, all three models are able to operate as standalone machines, allowing users to easily scan, copy, fax, change printer settings or setup and operate the printer without a PC.

The WorkForce WF-2651 and WF-2661 feature Epson’s PrecisionCore Technology that is equipped with versatile, high-speed solutions for office printing. Quality printouts are produced at 33 pages-per-minute (ppm)*. Similarly, the WF-2631 prints at 5,760dpi resolution and 34 ppm.

While the WF-2631 boasts a small footprint, allowing it to fit perfectly well within the limited office space of SOHO businesses, the WF-2661 offer even greater convenience with near field communication (NFC) capabilities, the first printer from Epson to offer this functionality. With this feature, users can conveniently print or scan by touching a compatible device to the printer.

All three units feature an ADF with a 30 sheet capacity holding capacity. Coupled with the Broadcast Fax and PC-fax functions, which allows you to send a fax digitally from your computer, sending and receiving faxes becomes a breeze. The printers also use Epson’s DURABrite Ultra pigment inks that produce high quality prints that are smudge, fade and water resistant.

Feature	WF-2631	WF-2651
Print Resolution	5,760 x 1,440 dpi	4,800 x 1,200 dpi
Print Speed	9.0 ipm (B&W)/ 4.7 ipm (Colour)	13 ipm (B&W)/ 7.3 ipm (Colour)
Scan Optical Resolution	1,200 x 2,400 dpi
Scanning Speed	16 sec/ 2 ppm (Monochrome) 34 sec/ 2 ppm (Colour)	12 sec/ 3 ppm (Monochrome) 27 sec/ 3 ppm (Colour)
Operating System Compatibility	Windows Xp/ XP Professional  x64 Edition/Vista/7/8/8.1 Mac OS X 10.6.8/10.7.x/10.8.x/10.9.x
Price	S$158	S$228	S$298

*Based on draft A4 black-and-white documents