Pilot programs

We started the IncludeAbility project because we wanted to normalise discussions concerning employment of people with disability in Australia. We know that when people with disability are not just getting a job but a good job, it's reflective of a disability policy system that works well. And it was great to work with the Disability Trust in the Illawarra region to try and ensure people with disability were obtaining not just jobs but careers. It's been a privilege to help and support local, interstate and national organisations to review their recruitment and onboarding processes, educate employers and to become more confident in employing people with disability.

We've learned a lot from the program and resources that have been provided within the program. It's been exciting and it's been an adventure through it all. Every day is learning a new step. This program has challenged a sort of fundamental level around how we go about designing jobs for our organisation.

Employing people with disability is a super win-win situation. The employer is going to get a really hardworking individual who is committed to them, and if you're accommodating to their needs they will be a hundred percent committed to you as an employer. We've learned how to adjust our recruitment processes and how we employ individuals to be able to tap into those talents.

It's less about inclusion specifically and more about recognising people's individual strengths and its about adapting, you know, the environment and your practices to support that person. And we've also had access to this talent pool and we're able to employ John as a part of that team.

It's been really beneficial. Personally, I've had a very good experience with the program through finding the job, applying for the job, interviewing for the job and actually getting the job. And now I'm here and working, I found the support along the way has been immense during my time working here. I feel that I'm getting a lot of good experience in website design, which is what I'm interested in. I'm passionate about the written word and being able to put that into an actual paid position is something that I really appreciate.

We have multiple employees engaged with the online feedback sessions and in those sessions no topic is off limit. I learned that there are really no wrong questions to ask. What I've really enjoyed most about it is the support it provides. After recruitment, you know, you might come up against a few  different challenges and IncludeAbility staff have helped us to scaffold. Those are really good. The website that's available is extremely helpful. There's so much information based on changing the physical environment to emotional support. No matter what concern I had, there was always someone to ask.

Having people here that have just been all so supportive in trying to help me do the best I can, despite the fact that I'm still learning along the way. With the help and support from Dinesh Palipana, who is an IncludeAbility ambassador.

It's been an incredible experience to be able to facilitate the online feedback sessions. So it's been extremely beneficial to connect with Dinesh. It just really felt we had someone in our court.

Dinesh's personal story is really inspirational. Hearing his stories from his perspective has helped really reinforce the reason why we are a part of this program. Challenging the status quo and really questioning the way that things have been designed. he was really friendly and approachable.

It's been a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with the Australian Human Rights Commission. We would like to see more employment opportunities for people with disability.

So the timing I think is fantastic for this initiative to talk about the opportunities that can be created and to create those actual jobs for people with disability. You can actually increase your creativity and productivity across the board. You can increase the loyalty people have to you as an employer, so it's good to be a part of it. I think it is a paradigm shift in the way we approach disability employment.

We created the IncludeAbility project to try to change the narrative concerning the employment of people with disability in Australia. It's my hope that in the future, the whole of Australia sees the importance of employment for people with disability. Not just for people with disability themselves, but for their employers, for society and perhaps more importantly the country as a whole.