Development of a job evaluation system to predict job placements for persons with mild mental retardation: a pilot study.

An attempt to investigate the types of jobs held by people with mild mental retardation in Hong Kong has been made by this pilot study, to evaluate the job-related skills required and to build the foundation for the development of a computerized job evaluation system. A local market survey was conducted, and 14 supported employment staff, five employers and 38 people with mild mental retardation were interviewed. Eleven job analyses were also conducted. All of the interviews were carried out with an interview guide sheet developed from O*NET. The majority of the jobs were unskilled (70.4%) and in the service/retailing sector (18%). The basic skills required for securing jobs have been identified and they provide a database for developing a computerized job evaluation system.