Youths with disabilities face reluctant employers, NDIS complications in uphill battle to find work
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Launceston brothers Harry and Tommy Colgrave are eager to join the workforce but are facing numerous barriers in their path to securing a job.
They both live with fragile X syndrome, a hereditary intellectual disability.
Harry, who has just completed year 12, has limited reading skills and has found tasks such as creating an applicant profile online, uploading a resume and cover letter, and completing an aptitude test challenging.
"I need help with that," Harry said.
He has had a number of job interviews but has so far been unsuccessful.
Harry said he found it difficult to talk about himself.
"What do I find hard? Speaking up and [making] eye contact with people," he said.
He has had some support from a disability service provider, which has helped him think about what kind of job would suit him and provided support during the application and interview processes.
He has also received some employment support funding but that has now run out.
Harry will soon start work with a local manufacturer, organised through the family's own networks.
Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows young people with a disability are three times more likely than people over 25 to be unemployed.
Australians with disability are more likely to experience prolonged unemployment than those without disabilities.
A report by the University of Adelaide states 18 per cent of young people with disability do not enter the workforce in the seven years after leaving school, compared to 5 per cent for those without disabilities.
Harry's younger brother, Tommy, has established his own gardening operation, tending clients' lawns in his local area.
Tommy requires a support worker to help him, but his application for NDIS funding was knocked back early last year, which means one of his parents has to go with him.
His father, Brent, said he wanted Tommy to have the opportunity to engage with the community and build capacity and skills, as any other young person would.
"What other parent of a 16-year-old child goes to work with them for a four-hour shift, say at Coles or McDonald's, stays there, works with them, and then drives them back home?" he said.
Mr Colgrave said it was important his sons had a positive experience during their first taste of employment.
"They're still trying to find out what a work life is all about," he said.
"We want them to be involved in work and we want them to be accepted and understood and valued."
Life Without Barriers strategic engagement manager for disability employment Emma Bennison said the challenge often arose from employers being reluctant to give people with disability a go.
"I think mainly that barrier is about employers being frightened of the unknown, frightened to … step into that unknown world of employing someone who might do things slightly differently from what they're used to," she said.
Ms Bennison said another barrier was NDIS access, with inconsistencies in employment funding, and people unsure what to ask for.
A peak industry body fears that National Disability Insurance Scheme service providers are facing increasingly bleak financial outlooks.
She said first jobs taught vital skills, including listening to others' perspectives, work ethic and time management, but many youths with disability missed out on those opportunities.
"It means that when they finish school, they don't have some of those really important soft skills that make them employable, and that's why these opportunities for young people are absolutely critical," she said.
Ms Bennison said the NDIS review should be used to understand barriers to employment for young people with disability and make sure the scheme supported them in achieving their goals and aspirations.
"We are missing out on a significant amount of untapped talent," she said.
"We are fantastic problem solvers, fantastic communicators and fantastic innovators who are really good at turning challenges into opportunities because that's what we are actually doing on a daily basis in order to get through life."
There are programs and pathways available, including School Leaver Employment Supports, Eligible School Leavers, and Disability Employment Services.
A federal Department of Social Services spokesperson said within Australia's Disability Strategy 2021-31 was the Employ My Ability strategy, which aimed to create inclusive workplaces where people with disability could thrive.
"It has four priority areas, the second being building the employment skills, experience and confidence of young people with disability," they said.
The spokesperson said supporting the transition from school to work was a key priority.
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In a statement, NDIS and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten said the former government had made the scheme difficult for people to navigate and access what they needed.
He said participants were exhausted and isolated by red tape, and his government was committed to changing their experience.
"We want to help people get into employment and we want to make the NDIS experience better for all," Mr Shorten said.
"I have asked the [National Disability Insurance Agency] to look into this case for more information."
Mr Shorten said one of the key reasons for setting up the NDIS was to support people with disability in employment.
"While the number of participants employed has remained stable, there are signs that more young people are moving into work," he said.
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