Employ

Increasing Local Employment

Today, local governments across various communities represent the major employer of labour. In turn, this makes them most suitable to attend to the employment needs of people with disability. They can easily equip individuals with a disability with the appropriate opportunities that allow them to belong to the workforce. 

No doubt, there is a need for extensive training, integration, and assimilation of disabled people into the environment. Regardless, local governments remain best situated to achieve this thanks to their closeness with the community easily. In fact, various local governments have taken action to recruit people with disability under a reasonable assessment procedure that takes cognisance of their situation and circumstances. In turn, emerge an organisational culture that supports diversity.

Even more, various local governments have assisted local organisations and businesses in the training and employment of people with disability. The goal is to boost local economic and social participation. This has become even more prominent following local government plans to develop local employment within the disability industry while supporting NDIS implementation.

The various ways through which local governments achieve the goal of increasing local employment span across the following areas.

Employ Individuals with Disability

Various surveys, prominently the national survey has established that various local governments now have a clear roadmap for the employment of individuals with a disability. However, in reality, less than one-third of these local governments actually follow through with the employment. This is thanks to the existence of various challenges within the industry.

These challenges include:

  • Absence of available job opportunities 
  • Pressure to satisfy the employment needs of alternative disadvantaged groups
  • Subconscious or unconscious bias in the recruitment process
  • A belief that, employing individuals with a disability is extremely difficult 
  • Risk aversion concerning occupational safety and health. This is even more popular in outdoor jobs
  • Absence of extensive knowledge concerning the modification of outdoor and indoor workplaces to accommodate them 

Provide Support to Local Companies in Employing People with Disability

In most cases, most local businesses lack adequate knowledge of the best means to modify their outdoor and indoor workplaces to suit compelling needs. Even more, they are ignorant about how to make their workplace more accessible. In turn, this can lead to reluctance from local businesses to employ individuals with a disability.

Local governments provide support to ensure that local businesses gain more knowledge and insight on the modification of their work environment. Even more, they provide training and employment opportunities, while relieving the employer of the cost responsibility. For instance, the National Disability Coordination Program is available to those with more than 100 employees.

Support Employment within the Disability Industry

Local governments also provide employment opportunities within the sector to boost local economic development. They achieve this by creating employment opportunities. Alternatively, they improve access to individuals with a disability to existing local businesses. This way, this sector can enjoy better economic empowerment.