What Opportunities Are Available To People With A Disability?

It can be challenging enough for people who are living with a disability but if you’re an individual who is also looking for gainful employment, this can present some even greater challenges.

Finding a steady job when you have a disability is far from impossible though and there is a lot of assistance out there these days for disabled job seekers. That’s going to be the focus of this article, so you know what your options are and that you’ll be reassured there are opportunities available to you in this country.

Many Australian Employers Are Adopting Workplace Diversity

Workplace diversity encompasses a number of different things and is largely focused on offering minority groups the opportunity to gain employment. This includes hiring people of all different ages, from a variety of different cultures, and also people living with a disability.

Employers have come to understand that there are certain advantages to having a diverse work environment. Productivity often increases, a wider range of good ideas are generated that can improve the business and business profits and it makes for a far more interesting workplace dynamic.

If you have a disability and you really want to find a steady job, you’ll want to seek out employers and companies that are renowned for diversity in the workplace and approach them with your interest.

Work Experience Can Get You In the Door

Unpaid volunteer work is not something that’s necessarily high on the agenda of someone seeking paid work, but it can get you an opportunity. If you can demonstrate to a potential employer that you can adequately do the tasks that the job requires, without any immediate financial pressure on the employer’s behalf, they will be more inclined to hire you and offer you paid employment.

It’s an option to consider and one that gives you the opportunity to prove to them that you can do the job as good as anyone else.

Employer Incentives Provided By the Federal Government

In a bid to encourage more Aussie employers to give people with a disability a chance, the Federal Government offers financial incentives. In other words, there is the possibility that an employer will be compensated financially if they take on a person living with a disability.

What this does is it takes some of the pressure off the employer and reduces any perceived risks or reservations the employer may have regarding hiring a person with a disability. Just as with work experience, it gives disabled job seekers a chance to prove themselves and show the employer that they can be a valuable member of the workforce, someone with something positive to contribute.

Another scheme is one where the worker is paid for the amount of work they get through each day, rather than receiving a set weekly wage. Again, this helps to negate any reservations an employer may have.

Discover the Opportunities DES Provides

DES stands for “Disability Employment Services”, yet another initiative of the Federal Government to assist people living with a disability find work.

One of the best ways to gain access to everything that DES provides is to team up with a local Jobactive provider. Jobactive providers exist to help unemployed people find work and this includes individuals who have a disability.

There is a bit to the DES program and your Jobactive provider will be able to explain what’s involved and determine exactly what level of assistance might be available to you. The scheme can go a long way towards helping you achieve your career and life goals and gives you assistance every step of the way when it comes to finding a job and keeping a job once you’ve landed one.

Just some of the assistance you’ll receive includes determining how many hours of work per week you are capable of working, getting skills training to improve your employment chances, receiving help putting together a resume, having job interviews arranged for you and ongoing moral support, which is just as important.

The DES program is certainly something every disabled job seeker should look into.

The Wrap

Once you start to dig deeper, you’ll discover that there is a lot of assistance out there for people living with a disability and quite a few job opportunities as well.