Predictors of employment readiness among persons with disabilities trained in community-based rehabilitation programme in Perak, Malaysia

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) have a low level of employment participation in comparison to the general population. This has been a major constraint to the economic independence of PWDs. Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programme has been widely implemented in Malaysia with one of the roles to enhance the vocational participation of PWDs. Nevertheless, the employment readiness of PWDs in CBR programs has not been sufficiently explored. Most studies have been conducted in the Western, which may not fully reflect the socio-cultural setting in Malaysia. This study sought to fill this knowledge gap in the Malaysian context. This study was conducted to examine the predictors of employment readiness among PWDs in CBR programme in Perak, Malaysia. A cross-sectional quantitative research design was used. The participants consisted of 151 adult PWDs from diverse disability backgrounds. The instruments used in this study were the LAM Assessment of Stage of Employment Readiness (LASER), the Perceived Employability Self-Efficacy Scale (PES), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used. The findings revealed that employability self-efficacy demonstrated a strong positive correlation (r = 0.65, p < .001) particularly with action score of employment readiness and emerged as the strongest significant predictor (β = 0.5, p < .001), accounting for the largest proportion of variance. Perceived social support showed a weak but statistically significant association, with support from friends being the most influential factor (r = 0.185, p = 0.023). Physical disability predicted significantly lower employment readiness (B = –4.367, p = .004), with transportation was also associated with lower action scores (B = –2.097, p = .038). suggesting structural constraints may impede progression toward employment. In addition, education level, age, gender, race and marital status were not significantly predict employment readiness. In conclusion, the findings highlight importance of psychosocial factors (employability self-efficacy and social support) in enhancing workforce readiness to achieve vocational success. These findings provide context-specific evidence to inform valuable insights and intervention design for Occupational Therapy (OT) professionals, CBR staff, and policymakers towards CBR programme enhancement, and policy strategies. Thus, suggest that tailored interventions are needed to enhance employability self-efficacy and boost social support in CBR settings among PWDs within CBR training programme in Malaysia.