UnikLearn conducts Autism Vocational Training and Internship programme0

In the spirit of World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) yesterday on April 2, awareness on autism further strengthens in the nation as UnikLearn – a vocational training and internship programme designed by professional therapists for autistic youths in Brunei commences its soft launching for its pilot phase today. 

The project initiative managed by participating stakeholders Startup Brunei, An-Nur Harapan (ANNUR), Progresif Cellular Sdn Bhd, Sparklife Skill and Kingston aims to provide a holistic approach in training autistic youths to join the workforce as well as to promote inclusion of autistic individuals in Brunei’s working community as well as the youth entrepreneurial community.

The soft launching event along with a Q&A panel session took place at the Darussalam Enterprise (DARe) Auditorium of the Design and Technology (D&T) building in Kg Anggerek Desa earlier this afternoon. 

This particular project initiative serves its objective for being one of the first responses to His Majesty’s titah last January, in which the monarch consented for the amendment of the Act and Regulations for Pension and Allowances for People with Different Abilities (OKU). 

“We realise that each individual possesses the skills and capabilities that are unique,” said His Majesty in expressing hope that the amendment would further guarantee the welfare and employment security of these individuals.

Rasyidah Samah of Startup Brunei – the lead project administrator and coordinator today in her opening keynote speech provided a brief introduction to the purpose of the UnikLearn training programme, given the rise in involvements of projects to sustain the inclusion of autistic youths in the community.  

“UnikLearn hopes to shed a positive light on autism towards inclusion in our caring society,” she said. “We hope that this initiative could help amplify their capabilities by providing them with training that could potentially help sustain themselves,” she added.

The vocational training programme, to be conducted at Sparklife Skill requires the autistic individuals to undergo training for a period of six months until such time they feel they are ready to enter the workforce to hence purse their ambitions. 

 

 

“ The training programme is to focus them on learning skills that are required for them to work independently on tasks assigned for their position,” said McCoy Chin, head of Sparklife Skill. This includes adapting themselves into a working environment, gaining knowledge on handling tools and equipment, interacting with customers, as well as understanding financial concepts, he went on to say.

The training will initially be conducted at the Sparklife Skill headquarters for the first two months and will gradually transition towards the actual training in the respective workplaces to ensure that the trainees are able to cope with the working environment. 

“Part of the training is also to focus on how they manage their emotions and behaviour, for example, if they are under stress,” he added, as it is understood in his position that autistic individuals are likely to be sensitive to certain noises or crowded places. “If necessary, we’ll also have to adjust the environment so that they could cope better with the training so that they are able to handle specific situations that might happen,” he continued.

During the overall six months, McCoy stated that it would be a good estimated amount of time for trainers to acquaint themselves with each of the trainees, as well as to discover their category of skills and capabilities that would match their preferred job position. From there, trainers can then customise the training process accordingly. 

As the practical training is planned to be carried out in cafes, restaurants and pop-up stores, each trainee will be given a chance to rotate on their assigned roles, from waitering, to cashiering, to working in the kitchen. 

“Each of the trainees will take turns to experience different roles in the café,” he said. “During the training, the trainers will observe and identify the level of capabilities each of the trainees on different roles.” 

The launching event was then followed by a press conference with an invited panel of a representative from each of the stakeholders participating in the project. 

With the heavy involvement of counselors, education officers and successful entrepreneurs in the programme as guidance for the trainees, as stated by Rasyidah, “the programme will go through pre-assessment, assessment, employability training, and job support.”

“We estimate that by six months through our intensive training and supervision, the clients will have reached employability level as well as developing their holistic skills,” she added.

Source: New Brunei Daily