To most, work is just a necessity and something people have to do, but for Scott, Morveen and Stephanie meaningful employment is the source of a great deal of satisfaction and, more importantly, freedom.
As employees with disabilities, the threes Job Access program and some supportive employers they are reaching those goals.
Thanks to the support offered by STEPS, Scott, Morveen and Stephanie’s employers have sought and obtained financial help to create safer and more accessible workplaces. Scott’s employer, Superior Pak, and Morveen and Stephanie’s employer, YMCA Bundaberg, received Job Access funding as a result of applications made by STEPS on their behalf and the money they received forms part of the $100,000 received by Bundaberg business in the past year.
“I have been legally deaf since I was three years old after I contracted HIB meningitis,” Scott said. The 22-year-old is trade qualified and is currently working as a spray painter with Superior Pak, a manufacturer of waste management equipment in North Bundaberg. “I got the job at Superior Pak through my dad, Peter, who has worked there for more than five years,” he said. “When I had finished my apprenticeship in January 2009, dad asked the plant manager, Paul Morgan, if there were any jobs available. Paul asked for my resume and for me to come out and work for a day and then he put me on a 13-week probation.
“I’ve been working there since the start of the year and I’m doing 38 hours a week now. I love the money and the working environment.” While Scott’s skills were enough to qualify him to do the work, his hearing disability would have presented a few problems in the workplace without the modifications made by Superior Pak through the Job Access funding. Paul contacted STEPS to seek assistance with an application for funding from Job Access and was awarded close to $20,000 to spend on workplace improvements. They have installed movement sensors on a number of the doorways where forklifts are usedScott said. In addition, Superior Pak staff will soon be undertaking Auslan Language training so they will be able to communicate more effectively with Scott.
For Morveen and Stephanie, who both have Spina Bifida and are wheelchair bound, the money from Job Access has allowed their employer to create a work environment that most people would take for granted. Simple things like ramps now allow the administration assistants to access areas that they would otherwise be unable to in a wheelchair. “I started with STEPS more than 12 months ago and have been at YMCA since January 18,” Morveen, 49, said. “The new automatic doors have been wonderful. They have all made my job and accessing my job a lot easier – particularly when it’s raining. “People need to be in the workforce and it really does make life that little bit easier. It’s encouraging that we are getting this support so we can support ourselves.”
Stephanie has been working at the YMCA for close to five months now and the improvements have made a huge difference to her working life. “I’m very happy because I can now use items that most people take for granted,” she said. “Even having the hand rails in the toilets makes a world of difference. The new automatic doors are easier to use as I don’t have to work the door to open it and then manoeuvre to get inside the building. “I would encourage all other companies to take these kinds of steps…they do make the world of difference.”
