EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN MALAYSIA: DRIVERS AND INHIBITORS

This study attempts to identify the drivers and inhibitors of employment for people with disabilities in Malaysia. It explores the skills and psychological traits needed by people with disabilities in order to get jobs and the barriers to their employment. Data include interviews detailing the viewpoints of 24 teachers with visual impairments. These teachers are registered and classified as either legally blind or partially sighted by the Malaysian Social Welfare Department. The majority of them are male, Malay, between 30-40 years old and have diploma qualification from Teachers Training College. The interviews were transcribed verbatim. Keywords or phrases were extracted, clustered, and interpreted into themes. Analyzed data were confirmed with the participants to ensure trustworthiness and reliability. The findings provide interesting insights into the specific employment issues faced by people with visual impairments and also shed lights on the issues encountered by people with other types of disability. It also discusses measures that can be taken to improve the employment rate of people with disabilities in the country. A discussion of the research findings is also provided.