Index People with disabilities in the world of work From liberalism to the third way From the medical model to the recovery model Existing policies on people with disabilities Job orientation and placement program Support program for employees with disabilities Employment charter talented and inclusive organizations recognition programConclusionAlthough Hong Kong is a multicultural and diverse city, disabled people are still gradually experiencing social exclusion. According to the Department of Census and Statistics (2014), there are an estimated 179,900 people with disabilities aged between 18 and 64, but only 39.1% of them were economically active, much lower than the general rate of 72.8 . %. Meanwhile, they had a higher unemployment rate than the overall rate, which is 6.7% and 3.7%, respectively. It causes a decline in the well-being of disabled people and increases the financial burden of both their families and the welfare system, which can be considered a general social problem. The high level of unemployment rate among disabled people can be explained by the following reasons, including inadequate policies carried out by the government, insufficient vocational training and social exclusion. It is therefore necessary for employers to eliminate discrimination and prejudice against disabled people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay People with disabilities in the world of work From liberalism to the third way According to Heywood (2013), liberalism emphasized the importance of the free market and government intervention should be treated as a last resort to solve intractable social problems. It is believed that individual freedom will decrease if the government intervenes in the market. Therefore, it is argued that the individual should take charge of his or her own well-being and that the government should withdraw from the provision of welfare. In liberalism the residual social security model is used. The government provides only limited social resources to disabled people, or only at a minimal level. When the working abilities of disabled people are lower than those of able-bodied people, employers may find no advantage or obligation in hiring disabled people due to the different additional help needed. They believed that unemployment was caused by deficit and individual malfunction. Since there are problems in dealing with the model of liberalism, the perspective of welfare provision is shifting from liberalism to the third way. In the third way, the provision of social services serves as a second chance for a new job. It is a concept that sits between laissez-faire capitalism and traditional socialism that advocates a compromise between the two. Disabled people are treated as human resources and not as social burdens. The government aims to empower them to contribute to economic development. In the third way, welfare provision focuses on social investments, such as education, vocational training and housing. With these social investments, disabled people will receive training that will allow them to enter the job market. For example, since 2002 the government has invested a total of $450 million in the development of social enterprises. In Hong Kong, there were over 574 social enterprises providing over 7,000 employment opportunities for socially disadvantaged people. However, there were only 78 social enterprises per million inhabitants in Hong Kong. It showed that it is not yet well developed compared to the UK's 1,083. From the medical model to the recovery model According to the medical model, disability is seen as a medical problemwhich resides in the individual. Impairment refers to anomalies that ideally should be treated or resolved by medicine in order to live a normal life. It defines disability in a fundamentally negative way with an objectively pitiful and terrible condition. This medical model also fits widely into the philosophy of welfare provision. The objective of public intervention tends to focus on rehabilitation and improvement of the impairment to the greatest extent possible. For example, there is a variety of day training and vocational rehabilitation services, including the provision of inpatient workshops and integrated vocational training centers that focus on basic skills training and routine tasks. However, this approach neglects the importance of providing open and fair employment opportunities to people with disabilities as a matter of course. The labeling effect also leads to social exclusion which reduces the employment opportunities of people with disabilities. The employer tends to view disabled people as sick and in need of special help, which requires them to provide additional support and resources in the work environment. They also tend to classify able-bodied people as superior to people with disabilities. As a result, this can create low expectations for disabled people and reduce their employment opportunities. Even the government is yet to show its positive encouragement towards hiring disabled people. According to the Civil Service Bureau (2017), the number of people with disabilities employed in the public service is only 1.9% of the total public employees. The government has gradually moved to the recovery model since 2008. The recovery model involves the development of a positive identity and valued social roles that promote the potential of disabled people through mental support from their friends and communities, such as peer specialists, community navigator. For example, the government announced the pilot program to train eligible former mentally ill people to serve as peer advocates for disabled people. However, the government continues to fail to implement policies to provide a high level of economic incentives to employ disabled people. Therefore, the unemployment rate among them remains high. Existing Policies on Persons with Disabilities Job Guidance and Placement Program The Job Guidance and Placement Program (WOPS) announced by the Department of Labor in 2005. This program aims to encourage employers to provide employment opportunities to disabled persons through the disbursement of the compensation. It also aims to improve the competitiveness and employability of disabled people through relevant pre-employment training. Under WOPS, employers who hire disabled people by providing on-the-job coaching and related pre-employment training will be granted an allowance for each employee with a disability. Each participating employer will receive compensation with a maximum amount of $51,000 per person with a disability for up to nine months. Furthermore, since 2018, the job orientation period has been extended from two to three months. The disabled employee will be free to decide whether to continue the employment relationship once the work orientation period has been completed. However, the retention rate of WOPS participants is low. According to the Audit Commission (2014), a total of 385 jobs for disabled people have been created since the inception of these programs, while a total of 1,882 disabled people have worked in these jobs. There is evidence that many had joined and left the job. Furthermore, approximately 65% ​​of WOPS participants only worked for a period of eight months or less, while their employers.