The job market in Australia has always been highly competitive. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a recession, a global pandemic or normal circumstances. It’s always been tough.
If you’re a person suffering from a disability, then the challenges and obstacles are even more profound. So, if you have a disability, is there any hope of finding a job or not? Or should you just resign yourself to the fact that you’ll be unemployed for the rest of your life?
Everyone in this country should have a fair go at getting a job, and it’s the same for disabled people. In this post, we’ll cover some plausible options, including disability employment services, that’ll help people with a disability find gainful employment.
Disability Employment Support
Disability employment support, also known as Disability Employment Services (or DES), encompasses a range of support options designed to assist people with disabilities in finding a job and keeping a job. These schemes involve government funding as well as learning skills to become more attractive to potential employers.
A search of Australian Federal Government websites will reveal a host of options available to people with disabilities when it comes to all forms of support, but particularly in helping the disabled find work.
We’ll now look at a couple of very helpful assistance schemes.
NDIS – The National Disability Insurance Scheme
The NDIS provides support for a person with a disability, as well as their carer and family. This is a long-term scheme aimed at individuals with permanent or more severe disabilities and takes on a lifetime approach.
NDIS employment services are a part of the overall scheme and help disabled people get work-ready and find fulfilling job roles. Ongoing support is provided even once the individual has landed a position, as the idea of NDIS is to help people remain employed and not just get a job. NDIS employment oversees the job role to make sure both the employer and the disabled employee are not encountering any problems, and if they are, to help figure out a solution.
Government Wage Subsidy Schemes for the Disabled
Disability Employment Services covers a broad spectrum of support opportunities and one of those is a government-funded wage subsidy scheme. his is designed to encourage employers and business owners to give a disabled employee a chance. Employers are given a monetary incentive which negates much of the financial risk of hiring a person with a disability. The employer pays a portion of the wage while the government covers the remainder.
It’s proven to be very effective at helping disabled people find jobs and keep them.
Alternatively, there is another scheme known as the Supported Wage System. Rather than a person with a disability being paid an hourly rate, they are instead paid on a performance basis. Meaning, they are paid based on the actual work they accomplish on any given workday. It’s all about productivity rather than time, so if the worker is a little slower than their able-bodied co-workers, the payment structure remains fair for everyone.
Gaining entry into the workforce is aided greatly by both of these schemes.
Jobactive Providers Can Also Assist the Disabled
Jobactive providers are another government initiative. These companies work in tandem with Centrelink recipients to help unemployed people get jobs. Jobactive providers also offer a lot of assistance to people with disabilities.
Many of the government schemes are available through a Jobactive provider and if you have a disability and want to find work, your Jobactive team can explain all the options available to you and even put you through free courses to get you job-ready.
Along with that, you gain access to all the equipment in the Jobactive provider’s premises, will receive help in formulating cover letters and resumes, and be put in touch with potential employers and have job interviews arranged.
Health assessments and job capacity assessments are also part of the Jobactive provider’s role.
If you have a disability and want some help in finding work, it’s worth looking into teaming up with a local Jobactive provider.
Conclusion
There is assistance available if you’re disabled and wish to enter the workforce. You can still find a job, and with the right help, chances are high that you’ll soon be gainfully employed.
