There are many employers throughout Australia who think that they have done enough when it comes to being more inclusive in the workplace for people with disabilities. Statistics tell us however that this might not be the case and it is true to say that Australian citizens with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed as their more able-bodied counterparts. This means that there are certainly still challenges that Australian employers need to meet head-on so that barriers can be removed for those who are leaving school and who have some kind of disability.
You need to incorporate disability employment services for school leavers into your business so that you are doing all that you can to be more disabled friendly and you invite people with disabilities into your workplace so that they feel very comfortable there. If you would like to learn more, the following are just some of the top tips to make your workplace more disability-friendly here in Australia.
• Offer more opportunities – If the opportunities are not there for people with disabilities then clearly they are not going to apply for a job with your business. There are particular skill sets that people with certain disabilities have and so you as an employer should be trying to take advantage of these and start hiring.
• Create a more supportive environment – Many Australians even to this day still don’t know how to react or behave in the company of people with disabilities. If you put training in place and workshops to educate people better then you will find that your employees will be friendlier and kinder to new employees with disabilities.
• Provide all of the essential training needed – It is true that you have training in place for new employees anyway but you should always make sure that your new employees with disabilities have all of the tools required to be able to do their jobs properly. It would make sense therefore to talk to them and ask is anything missing in the workplace that they need.
• Make sure everything is accessible – Obviously you need to start with the doorway into the building and if there are any stairs then start thinking about installing things like stair lifts for example. This will be beneficial for people with disabilities but also with your order employees who are close to retirement age and are not as limber as they used to be.
There is strength in every single person in the workplace with or without disabilities and it is up to you as the employer or manager to be able to identify each individual’s strengths and find a role for them within your company. There are many very capable and brilliant people out there with disabilities that currently are not presented with any opportunities and so this is the perfect chance for you to reach out to them and to employ these individuals. This will be something that separates you from your competitors.
