People with Disability Ready to Work in Essential Jobs
Media Release
Federal and state-based government restrictions put in place to help reduce COVID-19 infection rates have created widespread job losses, but also some areas of intense recruitment. With job vacancies now garnering unprecedented volumes of applications, atWork Australia, a national Disability Employment Services provider, is urging employers to ensure people with disability, injury or health condition who are looking for work are considered for the roles.
While recent news has been dominated by large scale job losses in industries such as aviation, travel and hospitality, new urgent recruitment needs have emerged including the recent announcement of 5,0001 casual roles (16th March), which was answered by over 36,000[1] applications.
“The Australian employment landscape has been transformed, almost overnight, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Sotir Kondov, Executive General Manager of leading Disability Employment Services (DES) provider, atWork Australia. “We can help businesses in finding the best person for the role quickly due to our extensive screening of candidates, experience at matching the right person to the role, and on-the-job support once our client starts working.
“At a time when so many are suffering the consequences of overwhelming job losses, we also hope to champion Australians with disability and help them gain equal access to the jobs that are available,” Sotir adds.
Disability Employment Services, an Australian Government initiative delivered by atWork Australia, offers businesses bespoke support based on their needs, to connect them with job-ready candidates and help with interviewing, hiring and onboarding processes. This can include tailoring CVs to align to the job role and screening candidates based on skills, abilities and organisational fit. Once in place, the provider continues to monitor the placement and offers assistance to both employer and employee over the first year and beyond if required.
Current industries that atWork Australia has identified as needing assistance with massive recruitment needs include grocery retail, transport & logistics, administration & support services, health care, aged care and disability care, and some manufacturing sectors.
“Our aim is to help businesses find the right candidate and keep them,” says Sotir. “We offer specialised candidate screening and job matching services to make sure we create a fit that works for the employee and employer. We also offer access to a long-term WorkAssist program to help employers retain staff living with disability should their condition change, or for staff who acquire a disability, and inhibit them from completing their expected tasks,” he adds.
DES services work with over 270 thousand candidates in Australia, who are proven to improve team performance says Debbie Brooks, atWork Australia’s National Diversity Employer Manager: “In nine out of 10 cases (90%)[i], employees with disability, injury or health condition are as, or more, productive than their peers and almost the same number (86%)[ii] show superior attendance. What’s more, they generate less turnover and fewer workplace injuries than other workers[iii].
“By working with a DES service, businesses can access top tier talent, while saving valuable time in the recruitment process, as we pre-screen candidates to ensure the right fit for the business and job role,” Debbie concludes.
For more information on atWork Australia and how it can help meet recruitment needs, please visit https://www.atworkaustralia.com.au/des/
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About atWork Australia Disability Employment Services
atWork Australia is a leading employment services provider working with Australians in over 300 locations across the nation. atWork Australia’s Disability Employment Services support people with disability, injury, illness or mental health condition to find the right job with the right employer.
To do that, the team work with people to identify their goals and aspirations, build skills and job-readiness, and coach them through interviews and into employment – as well as work with prospective employers to support and help them realise the benefits of employing a diverse workforce. In short, the team’s approach is to support a person in the way that most helps them transform their life.
atWork Australia are committed to providing truly excellent employment support services, making a real difference to people’s lives and helping employers find truly great people for their business.
[i] [i] Visit www.jobaccess.gov.au for more information
[ii]https://www.comcare.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/127425/Disability_in_the_workplace_PDF,_71.9_KB.pdf
[iii] Australian Network on Disability: Business benefits of hiring people with disability https://www.and.org.au/pages/business-benefits-of-hiring-people-with-a-disability.html