Flex’s PwD Program in Johor was launched on October 23, 2019 in conjunction with its recent hiring of 30 PwD employees for its operations in Flex Skudai and Flex Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Johor.
IN total, Flex Malaysia has hired 150 PwD employees, making the company one of the largest employers of PwDs in Malaysia.
Reasons for hiring PwDs: Flex promotes and encourages diverse and inclusive work environment globally and wants to provide PwDs with equal career opportunities. Many PwDs are not given equal career opportunities, and Flex wants to make a positive difference in their lives. Flex found PwDs’ performance to be at par with other non-PwD staff.
The hiring of PwDs in Johor was made possible through Flex’s partnership with the Johor Deaf Association and JobsMalaysia (the recruitment arm of the Ministry of Human Resources). All of Flex’s PwD employees are hearing impaired.
The interview with PwD talent was conducted by Flex supervisors at JobsMalaysia Centre on September 21, 2019. The first batch of 10 PwD employees joined Flex Johor (PTP) on October 1, 2019 and the second batch of 20 PwD employees joined Flex Johor (Skudai) on October 14, 2019.
Flex provides classroom and on-the-job training for PwD employees so that they are well-equipped to do interesting and meaningful work. Flex also provides employees with job rotation opportunities so that they can learn new skills.
We assign a buddy to help each PwD employee. Flex’s PwD staff work alongside other employees at the production floor; they are not segregated at the workplace.
We treat all employees as equals (including PwDs) and do not accord “special” treatment/ status on PwDs. In preparation to receive our new PwD employees, relevant staff are required to undergo a sign language training program conducted by the Johor Deaf Association.
PwD-friendly Facilities
We have installed strobe light alarm system to alert hearing-impaired PwD employees in case of emergencies. The buddy system also helps provide a ready friend who can guide them or help evacuate them in case of emergencies.
As a results, Flex was recognized as a “PwD Friendly Employer” by the Ministry of Human Resources in April 2019 for embracing diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Noteworthy Stats:
• Malaysia has 487,000 PwDs.
• Only 3,782 PwDs out of the 487,000 in Malaysia, are registered employees. This means that only about 0.8% of PwDs are employed in Malaysia
• Flex alone accounts for almost 4% of the registered PwD employees. Flex will continue hiring more PwD employees – at least doubling the current figure.
Moving Forward
Flex is committed to the ongoing advancement of equality, respect and dignity in our workplace and the communities we serve, through programs that improve equal engagement and inclusion (including that of PwDs).
In short, Flex believes that “no one should be left behind”. Flex has plans to double its PwD workforce in the near future.
Viswanathan Paramasivam, Flex’s Vice President of Operations said, “We noticed that hearing-impaired employees were not given equal career opportunities in the industry, and we wanted to make a difference in their lives.
“We want to hire, develop and empower hearing-impaired employees so that they can achieve their full potential. We also believe in creating an inclusive and diverse ‘Flex Family’. Just like a real family, we want to meet our people’s social, emotional, developmental and communication needs, including that of hearing-impaired employees.” he said.
Jacob Philip Kanianthara, Flex’s Vice President of Operations, “We encourage a sense of collective pride and belonging in a workplace where every individual is empowered to do their best work. We believe that diverse, inclusive and collaborative teams enable us to transcend conventional creativity, as we help companies transform ideas into smart solutions that shape a better world.”
PwD Employee (Hearing Impaired):
“Ever since I joined Flex, I have made so many new friends – hearing impaired and hearing employees.
“What is really touching is seeing the dedication from our supervisors and other line operators to learn, practice and try to master sign language daily so that they can communicate with us. I feel so welcomed and happy to be included as part of the Flex family. They truly hear us.”
Muhammad Anwar Abd Rahman
Production Operator, Flex Johor
About Flex
Flex is the Sketch-to-Scale® solutions provider that designs and builds intelligent products globally. With approximately 200,000 employees across 30 countries, Flex provides innovative design, engineering, manufacturing, real-time supply chain insight and logistics services to companies across industries and markets.
For more information, visit flex.com or follow us on Twitter @flexintl.
Established in Malaysia since 1988, Flex has 12 facilities spread across Penang, Selangor and Johor with total footprint of 4 million sq. ft. (about the size of 91 soccer fields). We are one of the largest employers in Malaysia’s technology sector with over 20,000 employees.
