Singapore - UPS is hiring but this time round, the package delivery company will be on the hunt for people with disabilities (PWDs) to fill the positions.

Commenting on its participation in the Disability Awareness Public Education Job Fair held last Saturday, country human resources senior manager for UPS Singapore Jeff McLean says the company looks beyond differences when hiring. In fact, he says its recruitment process is "hire based on merit, development potential and their ability to contribute to the company".

While UPS currently only employs five PWDs, McLean says it is his aim to hire more as there are vacancies available for both blue and white collar positions. Furthermore, once disabled candidates are hired, additional coaching and training sessions would be provided for them so they could assume positions of greater responsibility later on in their career. McLean says, "These not only ensures that employees enjoy their work but that they perform to the best of their abilities and continue to make important contributions to our company."

When asked if there were any concerns initially in adapting the work environment to suit the disabled workers' needs, McLean says the impact to the budget is irrelevant as it is worthy to invest in people assets.

The facilities provided for disabled employees include disabled user-friendly washrooms, wider walkways for wheelchair users and allocation of parking lots close to office entrances. McLean says this is especially useful for them on rainy days.