People with disability bring a variety of skills, talents and abilities to any workplace.
People with disability can be successful in all areas of the workforce. Many are tertiary or trade qualified and hold senior managerial positions. People with disability who are currently employed, work across many occupations:
- 37 per cent are professionals, managers and administrators
- 30 per cent are clerical sales and service workers
- 33 per cent are from remaining occupational categories including tradespeople, production, and transport workers as well as labourers and related workers (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003).
Although most people with disability want to work, some employers may have concerns about employing people with disability. As a result, people with disability often find it hard to break down these barriers to recruitment.
The largest barrier that many people with disability face is the attitude of others. You can become more confident when interacting with people with disability by doing some disability awareness training or using the resources on JobAccess to learn more about what people with disability can do:
Sometimes a person with disability may need a few simple adjustments to the workplace or a piece of special adaptive equipment to allow them to perform a job. There is help available to eligible employers of people with disability to pay for the cost of workplace modifications or adjustments if they are required:
More information?
For more information about the work that people with disability can do and the supports available to your employer, contact the JobAccess Advisers on 1800 464 800 or online:
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings 2003, Cat. No. 4430.0, viewed 23 May 2006, <http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/Lookup/978A7C78CC11B702CA256F0F007B1311/$File/44300_2003.pdf>.