Focus on Abilities

About

Focus on Abilities is an Athlete Life initiative by the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) that seeks to unite supportive partners and donors to provide comprehensive career support for para athletes. Our aim is to empower para athletes to not only navigate success in their chosen sport but also to seamlessly transition into successful dual and post-sport careers.

Tailored for para athletes, FoA’s support includes:

Career Planning and Guidance
Skill-Building Opportunities
Employment Support
Networking Opportunities

Benefits

For athletes — Why pursue a dual career?

Transitioning post retirement: “I think having a dual career helps athletes transition more smoothly into the working world, leveraging the experience they gain rather than starting from scratch after sport retirement. And given the competitive and unpredictable nature of sports, the more you prepare, the better it will serve you now and in the future, as I’ve learnt from my experience.” — Theresa Goh, Former Paralympic swimmer

Finding fulfilment: “Balancing a full-time job with training was challenging, especially managing the time difference between Europe and Singapore. Despite the sacrifices, I was happy to be financially responsible for my training and my job duties. I was in a fulfilling mental state, working to achieve my ambitions and maximise my potential. This situation truly exemplifies the saying, ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way.’ — Maximilian Tan, Former Paralympic Equestrian athlete

Promotes holistic well-being: I believe it is highly beneficial for athletes to pursue a dual career or engage in activities outside of sports for several reasons. First, it promotes mental health and well-being by providing a mental break and reducing stress, allowing athletes to recharge and return to their sport with renewed focus. Additionally, activities outside of sports help develop a wide range of transferable skills. For example, my experience as a Go coach has sharpened my analytical thinking and strategic planning, which are valuable in shooting — Daniel Chan, Para Shooter

For employers — Why hire Team Singapore para athletes?

A 2022 research study commissioned by SG Enable revealed that companies that are at a more mature stage of adopting disability-inclusive hiring practices are also perceived by their employees to have a stronger culture and organisational performance. Similarly, individuals who worked closely with persons with disabilities perceived their company culture and performance significantly more positively than individuals who did not. Overall, this suggests that there are benefits that companies can unlock by adopting more disability-inclusive hiring practices.

By hiring a Paralympic athlete you will get an employee who has proved they can turn adversity into opportunity and has the will, stamina and passion to pursue and achieve the goals they set. A Paralympian also knows how to set priorities, adhere to a given schedule, can work in teams and has proven to be able to work hard for what they want to achieve.

Embracing a diverse workforce increases competitiveness and enhances virtually any business. Organisations who have started to hire Paralympians or people with an impairment have experienced improved reputation and loyalty from internal and external stakeholders because it changes perspectives and raises awareness. It allows for a better understanding of the needs and expectations of people with impairments as customers, and increases efficiency linked to staff recruitment, engagement and development.

Programmes & Resources

Join our workshops and talks on employability!

Check out articles on balancing sport and a day job!

Meet our Team Singapore Para Athletes

Read their testimonials here.

Meet our Partners

For employers: If you’d like to learn more about how to create a more inclusive and diverse workplace and be a champion for disability inclusion in the workplace, check, these are the partners you can work with!
For athletes: If you’d like to find job opportunities and strengthen your employability skills, check out our partners!

Live The Dream by Micron in partnership with SDSC

The Micron-SDSC partnership has been positively impacting persons with disabilities in Singapore since 2015. This partnership emphasises transformative change for persons with disabilities through sustained commitment to meaningful para sport programmes and opportunities.
Micron Foundation will continue to invest in employability initiatives for para athletes, to help shape brighter futures for para athletes beyond the podium. These initiatives include: Employability Skills Workshops, Mentorship Programmes, Accessible Learning Resources for Para Athletes and Employers.
This site is made possible by the generous partnership of Micron Foundation.

Focus on Abilities is an initiative by the Singapore Disability Sports Council.

Brought to you by:

Our Focus on Abilities Partners: