CANBERRA: Australians with a disability have more opportunities to forge meaningful careers under new initiatives designed to address their over-representation in entry level jobs and provide better access to career advancement.

After a successful two-year pilot, the Australian Network on Disability (AND) is continuing its career pathways program to reduce the barriers to job progression faced by those with a disability.

The Australian Foundation for Disability (Afford) has also announced it will expand employment opportunities through a new partnership with Inclusive Employment Australia.

Both initiatives seek to foster purposeful, long-term employment for those with a disability, ensuring they have the same opportunities for job fulfilment as able-bodied workers.

“This is about providing everyone the opportunity – regardless of background or ability – to reach their potential,” said Tristram Gray, chief people officer at Kmart Group, which was one of four organisations to participate in the AND career pathways pilot.

“Having a career, or having the opportunity to progress (a career), provides a sense of purpose (for people with a disability).”

About 4.4 million Australians live with a disability, including 2.1 million of working age.

However, just 53.4 per cent are currently in the labour workforce and those that are typically face a range of barriers to progressing their careers, including employer bias, low expectations, inaccessible training and a lack of support and adjustment.

Mr Gray said the concept of meaningful employment differed among individual workers, with some seeking promotional opportunities while others simply wanted to work more hours.

In the pilot, Kmart assisted 35 existing staff to move into more fulfilling roles, including a staff member in a wheelchair who can now work as a checkout operator after the retailer committed to installing height-adjustable check-outs.

Hearing-impaired workers have also been assisted through access to training presented in Auslan.

Mr Gray said the program’s benefits went far beyond individual participants.

“We found our teams feel better when we are giving opportunities to people that may be a bit more marginalised in the community,” he said, noting that employing people with a disability also helped address worker shortages.

“It’s a win-win-win.”

Afford inclusive employment operations manager Jim Win said people with a disability often feared their career would be forever limited to menial work but encouraged them to seek the help of disability employment services to find fulfilling roles.

“There are employers that are open to considering someone (for higher-skilled) work because they understand a disability, injury or illness doesn’t affect their performance to the degree that others might think it does,” Mr Win said.

“We’ve had a couple of clients only recently who started out in a general role in a factory and they’ve become supervisors, and that’s been a great success story.”

Mr Win said the healthcare, ageing and disability care sectors often provided rewarding careers but other sectors were also becoming more inclusive.
Rewarding sense of purpose

Sami Haddad became homeless after suffering a stroke in 2008, which limited his mobility and endurance.

He subsequently struggled to hold down employment, until a meeting with an Afford consultant helped him secure work as a cleaner with RJS Aluminium.

Now married and living in stable housing with his wife and children, Mr Haddad said his job gave him “pride and hope for the future”.

“I always wanted a job because I wanted to have a normal life, to earn my own money, feel independent and be proud of myself,” he said.

“Each day, I help keep the factory clean and safe.

“I’m really proud of what I do. It’s honest, physical work and it gives me a sense of purpose every single day.”

Long-term Kmart team member Sarah Lennie, who has autism and multiple sclerosis, worked in warehousing before taking part in the AND program, where she was provided one-on-one coaching and workshops to help her achieve her goal of becoming a store assistant manager.

The mother-of-three said she “fell into a hole and didn’t know where I was going” after the MS diagnosis, and her promotion was life-changing.

“I thought there was no chance that I would be able to go any further with my thoughts (aspirations) of becoming a manager,” said Ms Lennie, whose MS symptoms sometimes cause speech impairment and require the use of a walking aid.

“I had seen the other assistant supervisors before me running around the store and I thought I’m definitely not going to be able to do that all the time.”

Ms Lennie, who is rostered to non-consecutive work shifts to manage her energy levels, was thrilled the promotion offered greater job security and career satisfaction.

Most importantly, she said, it demonstrated to her children, who also have autism, that dreams were achievable.

“I wanted (my children) to know they don’t have to be stuck doing entry level jobs (and) that they are capable of doing anything,” Ms Lennie said.

“One of them has just got into uni and … she sometimes thinks, ‘Mum did it (achieved her goals), so I can do it too’.”