Unlock Job Skills & Opportunities with NDIS Support - Webinar Replay

Webinar Replay
Written By Contact Kinora

Are you curious about how your NDIS plan can support your employment journey?

Whether you’re re-entering the workforce, job hunting for the first time, transitioning from school, or exploring volunteering, this empowering session is for you!

In this session we dive right into:

  • What are Disability Employment Services and who might be eligible.

  • Looking at the different ways that you might be able to use your NDIS plan to access support to prepare for, find, and succeed at work.

  • Practical tips for seeking out job opportunities, enhancing your CV, improving interview skills, and more.

    • There are lots of support options out there. If you feel your provider is not the right one for you, you have the choice and control to change providers.

    • DES and NDIS services can work together to make sure you are getting all the support you need, it doesn't need to be one pathway or the other.

    • When thinking about what type of role you might want to start looking for, make some lists: can do, can't do, won't do, might do, and like to do.

    • When applying for jobs it's up to you how and when you talk about your disability support needs, if it won't affect how you can do the role you don't need to mention it.

    • You have transferrable skills from all different aspects of your life that you can use to showcase your skills and experience when applying for a role.

    • Volunteering can be a great way to get experience working with other people and communicating, as well as specific job skills.

  • So hello everyone, and welcome to our webinar today all about unlocking job skills and opportunities.


    Thank you for taking the time to join us today.


    So we dive into the different types of support out there that can help you on the job hunt.


    I'm Erin, I'm one of the Kinora Community Coaches and I'll be hosting today's session.


    We've also got Yvette from our team here with us.


    She's in the background there. She'll be managing the chat. There she is. Hi, Yvette.


    So if you're a member, you probably recognise us from within the community Forum.


    We are so excited to have two special guests join us today as well.


    Firstly, we've got Lisa Kajanto, a passionate leader in disability employment services.

    Hi Lisa, she's got over 13 years experience in the DES Space and she was recognised for her great work in that space back in 2018 when she received an International Women's Day award.


    She's currently the site manager at Multiple Solutions Employment in Southern Adelaide.


    So yeah, thanks for being here, Lisa, really happy to be joined by you today.


    But we also, we're also joined by Latoya Martin, who has been dedicated to helping people grow their skills and confidence in the community services sector sector for over six years.


    And she's now a facilitator in the futures team at APM based in Tassie. She's really passionate about helping her NDS clients reach their goals.


    So thank you so much for joining us as well. Latoya, Thank you for having me a part of this conversation.


    I'm really looking forward to it today. And hello everyone.


    Yeah, both Lisa and Latoya work with people on reaching their employment goals, but obviously they come at it from slightly different angles being from dES and NDIS.


    So I'm really looking forward to hearing both of your insights today. So thanks again, both for being here and sharing your knowledge with us.


    Before we jump right into it, I'll just need to get into some housekeeping first.


    So if you've been to one of our webinars before, you would know that we record these sessions to share the video replay and any resources that we mentioned within the Kinora community.


    If you're not a member, though, don't worry, we'll send you the replay direct to your inbox as well.


    If you need closed captioning today, click on more. At the top of your screen, there's three little dots and then choose Language and speech, and then select Turn on live captions.


    And there's also a chat button at the top of your screen, so if you go ahead and click on that now, this is where you can introduce yourself, share any comments, ask questions as we go that we'll be keeping an eye on the chat and we'll address any questions at the end of the webinar.


    If there's any that we don't get to today, we'll make sure we'll pop those questions in the Kinora community and answer them there.


    A quick background on Kinora for those who aren't members yet.


    Kinora is a free, safe, and supportive online community where you can get support for your NDIS questions from us coaches and our community of thousands of other NDIS participants, families, support coordinators, and service providers who are experts in their fields.


    We have lots of NDIS information and free resources you can check out, so if you're not a member, I'd encourage you to join.


    We would love to have you as a member in the spirit of community as well.


    I'd love for everyone to start sharing in the chat today because that's what Kinora is all about.


    So if you feel comfortable, pop into the chat and just let us know what you're hoping to get out of today's session.


    Or perhaps you can share where you're at on your employment journey right now. So maybe you're just starting to put the feelers out there to find work or wanting to explore volunteering. Maybe you're helping someone that's leaving school a loved one. So I'd just love to know who's here today.


    Before we dive in any further, I'd just like to make an acknowledgement of country as well in the spirit of reconciliation.


    Kinora acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community.


    We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and future. We acknowledge the culture, diversity, knowledge and experiences of First Nations people and celebrate their contributions and specifically those living with disability, their families, carers and individuals dedicating themselves to a career in supporting people with disability.


    So having a job can be a real game changer with so many benefits.


    Obviously the financial aspect is a huge one, but it goes way beyond that.


    You know, working, whether it's in a paid role or as a volunteer, can give us a sense of purpose and help us connect with our community as well.


    It can be a real boost to our independence and confidence, and if we're lucky, it might even bring us a bit of happiness and joy.


    But we know that finding and keeping a job can be really challenging, especially for those on the NDIS.


    The good news is that there are plenty of support options out there to help navigate these obstacles. And often the right support can make all the difference rather than trying to go it alone.


    So that's what we're here to talk about today. We're going to start with Lisa, who will give us an overview of the Disability Employment Services.


    And then Latoya's going to walk us through how you can use your NDIS plan for employment support.


    And finally, we're going to share some tips and tricks that anyone can use in their job hunt to increase their chance of success.


    So without further ado, let's jump into it.


    Lisa, let's start with you. Thanks again for being here now. Oops, sorry, I think you're still on mute there.


    Lisa, if you just want to hit your mic button, let me see if I can do it for you. Nope, you got it. If you hit the mic button, that should take you off of mute.


    We're having some tech issues with teams here today. Everyone, I'm really sorry. No, it's not letting me unmute your mic.


    What we might have to do if you're unable to do it, Lisa, we might start instead with Latoya and go through the NDIS stuff first if you want to maybe drop out and then come back in.


    Hopefully that fixes it.


    All righty. Yeah, we'll just move on to NDIS for now. Sorry everyone.




    We're nothing if not flexible here. That's what it's all about.


    Exactly.


    So basically the NDIS can fund supports in employment.


    Generally participants that need that extra funding through NDIS generally need that more one on one really nitty gritty support to help them reach their employment goals a bit more than what our wonderful desk providers can provide with their model.


    So yeah, we're just that more hands on and tailored individual flexible support for each individual that comes to the doors and wants to reach their employment goals.


    So, yeah, that's what we do at APM Futures here. And there are three areas of funding that we have, which is our SLES, our school leave at employment supports.


    So that is for individuals between the ages of 15 to 22, they may still be in school or they may be coming out of school and looking to commence their career or and we're building capacity and exploring what's out there or real life experiences on the job, volunteering, just building capacity for when they are ready.


    Yeah, absolutely. And then we have finding and keeping a job that again it's about building capacity through all the different avenues that we use.


    And then we also have supports in employment. So that's for people that might be entering into employment, which that could be even a desk provider's got a participant employment, but they're realising that that person might need some on the job support with the facilitator there supporting them to build their independence.


    So that's another thing that we provide here, 3 NDIS employment supports. So yeah, so it's just those are three main ones.


    So yeah, that's just a quick overview.


    Absolutely. So you mentioned there that some people might actually have found a job or are working with DES to find find a job.

    And you work with them at the same time. So it's not that people need to go 1 pathway or the other. You do work together, don't you?


    Yeah. We can't replicate services because if you can go for desk, we're not gonna access NDIS funds, obviously, but we can dual service. So we're doing different.


    We'll have like a like a document to say which each place is doing and yes, we can work together, which is really good.


    So it's providing that wrap around service for people so nobody's falling in between the cracks there. So, yeah, that's a really exciting way that we can all work together.


    Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And you did mention that, you know, it's all about helping people to reach their employment goals. So that's a good place to start probably to look a bit more closely.


    What kind of goals do people usually have in their NDIS plans that can help them access these services?


    Do you see, is it mostly specifically work related goals or could it just be general, a bit more general than that?


    Yeah, yes. So I'm not really involved with the NDIS plan as such. We have absolutely consultants that handle that stuff because I'm busy with the with our participants, which is a good thing because you don't want us bothering with that.


    But yeah, so building capacity is another one and engaging in the community and things like that as well, I believe is also a part of it.


    And building your communication and social skills, which is also goals that our participants set and we work with them to achieve because those are really fundamental steps to gaining employment as well.


    So yeah, absolutely. It's funny when you talk about, you know, job skills, a lot of it it just comes down to kind of confidence and people skills and and these things that you pick up in all different ways.


    So although you might be using your plan to help find a job, you don't necessarily need to have a goal written saying my goal is to get a job, although that might that might be in there too.


    That's no issues with that.


    And just so everyone knows that's watching, you can actually update your goals at any time. If you contact your local area coordinator or your planner, you can update those.


    If you wanted something a bit more specific about looking for a job, that might help you to get a bit more focused funding as well.


    But if you're not sure if you have the right funding in your plan, just check to your local area coordinator or planner or if you've got a support coordinator as well, they can, yeah, talk you through it.


    So let's have a look at the sort of specific things that you do to help clients find a job.


    So, yeah, if you just want to talk us through exactly what you do with people to, to help them on that journey and support them.


    Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So it all, when you come to our programme, we work through like a kind of like a strengths and needs assessment to see where you're at.


    We can find out your aspirations, your interests, your strengths, areas that you want to work on. You could have experience already. And we work from that.


    And then every 12 weeks we set, well, the participant will set three goals. So that gives us a clear indication on what area we're focusing on. We're not setting the SMART goals. They're not like, I want a job, a SMART goal.


    What can we do? What do we need to do?  What do we need to work on?  So gaining a job is, yeah, is attainable.


    So that's the sort of thing to really breaking it down into smaller, smaller things that people can achieve SMART goals.


    And then end of the 12 weeks, we reviewed that and it's really nice to see the progress that people have made.


    So I really enjoyed that aspect of it. But the things that we do, we work on communication, social skills, it might be time management, it might be learning about what an what an employee, what makes a good employee.


    We travel planning. So we just do all the areas, money handling on the job support.


    We might look, we might get to a certain point that we've done training packages and explored and done our research on different industries and you've kind of got an idea of where you want to head.


    So that's when we might start working at looking for work experience placements or volunteer opportunities.


    Volunteer opportunities are a fantastic way also to build those skills and you can get your customer service skills, building your communications social skills.


    Yeah, so we just, it's very individualised. I could go on forever, I think because it is each participant and their goals and their needs. So it really is tailored.


    And if we don't have the answers, we have a big wonderful team of facilitators and other people in the background.


    So if we don't have the answer as your facilitator, we have expertise from all different fields helping us out there, and we always are looking out of the box to find ways that we can help you achieve your goals.

     

    Yeah, yeah, yeah.
    Fantastic.


    So there's not exactly a list of we do, you know, XYZ. It's kind of looking at a person's individual situation, Yep. And seeing what's going to help them.


    Yep, Yep.


    What do you find that the most popular things that you do along that?


    Like, obviously everyone's different, but is there things that sort of come up quite a lot that people need assistance with?


    Yeah, yeah. So we do have some wonderful training packages developed, but not everyone's going to need every single one of them.


    So we kind of pick out to match the goals and they're fun and they're engaging. A lot of things. Everyone finds sorting is interviews is a big one. I don't like interviews.


    I don't think anyone I don't no, no, we do a lot of interview training.


    We help them prepare for interviews and you know, we're researching with them, really getting them prepped.


    So even when they leave here, they might leave here with a job, but we want them to be set up for the future as well.


    When we're not involved, we're doing. Yeah. So interviews, resumes, cover letters, but teaching them also how to do that.


    Yeah, Yeah. And helping apply for jobs and that sort of thing. So those are the big ones. And communication and social competence is also a big one, I find.


    How do you work on that? What kind of activities do you do with people for that?


    Yeah, yeah. So again, it depends on the individual.


    So we do have our beautiful communication and soft training packages, as again I said, they're really fun and engaging. We might look for social experiences out in the community, social groups.


    So some people might come and even coming into an office and meeting someone is a big step for them.


    So it really is baby steps and where they're at.


    We can even look at local community groups and attend with them for the first couple of sessions till they're comfortable and they're growing in confidence because we really do want to look at the big wide picture and explore all avenues to help that individual reach their goals.


    So, yeah, I'm probably missing a million different things, but that's. Yeah, that just gives you a bit of an idea.


    Yeah, yeah, yeah. Amazing. And you've mentioned APM specifically does for their clients Employable Me. Yes, that's resources that helps them along that journey.


    Do you just want to let us know quickly what that is? Yeah.

     

    So if you're a part of APM Employment Service in the whole. So obviously APM Futures is a complementary programme to APM Employment Services.


    So there's actually a really great resource when you're a part of APM. It's called Employable Me and it has. Great tips for interviews, resumes, cover letters, what to wear to an interview and how to find your skills and your transferable skills and skill growth and all those sort of things.


    So that's just one little piece of something we have here at 8:00 PM to help you along your employment journey.


    Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fantastic.


    And if someone is looking for an employment provider to help them with these NDI supports, what should people be looking for in a provider?


    Is there anything in particular that helps know that it might be a good, you know, relationship or anything like that?


    Yeah, yeah. My recommendation, there's obviously disability Expos around in your local community.


    I am sure going having a meeting, there will be probably many there for you to choose from, but also meeting sorry.


    At APM Futures, we have some wonderful engagement consultants and they can meet you numerous times and you can meet with them, they can explain the programme, you can meet with the facilitators and see if it's a really good fit and if their service and what they do matches what you're going to need from the programme.


    Yeah. So that's my game.


    Yeah, that's great.


    I imagine, like you said, everyone's so different and goes through different steps.


    Yeah. It would take someone that's really, I guess, in tune with you to know what's gonna help you the best. So, yeah, trying to find that person.


    I know it can be difficult finding providers just. But yeah, I think.


    But they're trying to find, yeah, attending those disability Expos and things like that, or reaching out to each individual.


    I know that's very time consuming, but speaking a meeting with people I think really gives you a good idea.


    Yeah, yeah, absolutely.


    Like getting a list from Google, shooting off some emails and just seeing what the responses are like.


    That might give you a bit of an idea of. Absolutely, Yeah, Yeah, If you've got a support coordinator, obviously they would be able to help with that as well.


    Just one other thing I want to mention about support coordinators while we're on it is that the NDIS has just recently added into the finding and keeping a job budget line for support coordinators to help provide these supports as well.


    So if you can't find a provider near you that you think would work well with you, if you've got a support coordinator that works well with you, maybe ask them if they could possibly help with these types of supports as well.


    Obviously, they would need to have the skills to do that, but you never know, That might be a good way for people to, you know, access these supports as well.


    Yeah, so I think that kind of covers most of the NDIS supports. So yeah, it's really about individualised capacity building.


    There's a big thing. I mean, that's what the NDIS is all about, isn't it? So you did mention a few times they're helping people to build the skills for the future.


    It's not just finding this one job. Yeah, I think that is so important. Yeah, absolutely.


    Yeah, really great.
    Alrighty. Well, we might pop back over to Lisa.


    I can see she's back on now and hopefully everything is OK Good afternoon. Yes, it certainly is.

     

    Thank you.


    Woo Hoo, says Yvette.


    So now we're gonna step back and have a look at DES.

     

    So Disability Employment Services, because that's one of the main avenues of support for people with disabilities.


    So as Latoya mentioned, DES and NDIS can work together, but it'd be good to sort of, yeah, take a look at DES on its own and see what exactly kind of services that offer and who might be eligible for that.


    Did you want to talk us through that, Lisa?


    Absolutely. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for your patience in my getting cut off there.


    So look, multiple solutions and I'll talk about them.


    We've been helping people with injury, illness and disability to find meaningful and long term employment for over 30 years.


    We run 2 programmes across SA that is DES, Disability employment Services and Disability Management services.


    There are two programmes, two different programmes.


    So to be eligible for DES or DMS, in most cases you need to be in receipt of a of a payment, whether that's DSP, job seeker or something like that.


    And from there, what normally happens is going into what Latoya said about finding the right provider is someone may walk into the office today, we'll ask them those questions.


    I can do a search to see if they are actually in the system.


    What happens from there is they need to have medical evidence. So there is a form that we use, a Centrelink verification of medical conditions form.


    So we normally give that to the participant. They would then go to see their GP.


    Once that's been completed, they would bring it back into the office and I would send it off to Centrelink assessment team for an assessment that will then come back with a lot of things.


    So recommendations of so you'll have the disabilities there or barriers as I like to call them, intervention suggestions of what we as a provider will support the client in and then benchmark hours.


    So there are three benchmark hours in DES and DMS and that is 8 hour benchmark, a 15 hour benchmark and a 23 hour benchmark.


    That's a lot of information, but most times that's how we get our clients.


    Also NDIS, so there are exceptions to the rules. So if someone is engaged with it or has an NDIS plan, we can direct register clients into our services with, you know, obviously their support coordinators, etcetera.


    But that's normally how you would come into the DES programme.


    Yeah, so you can find it provided directly. You don't need to go through like Centrelink Services Australia or anything like that.


    No, you don't need to. If someone, we do get Centrelink referrals.


    So someone you know, may have, you know, want to engage with a provider, they've been assessed, they've done all that work themselves and Centrelink will refer them.


    And I suppose again, going on to what Latoya was saying, go to your expose.


    You know, I always say I'm a really big believer. Don't promise the world to deliver nothing, because that's not going to help.


    It's not about you or I, it's about that participant. So, yeah, finding the right to a provider for you is really important as well.


    Yeah, absolutely. Seems like that's such a big part of it, to work with someone.


    So what exactly does Des help people with? Do you want to talk through the ways that you can support people on the journey?


    Absolutely. I could talk all day then. So I can only talk on behalf of multiple solutions on what we do here.


    So what we do is what you can expect from us as a client is you will treat you with respect and dignity.


    That's first and foremost, the most important for me and for the multiple solutions is building rapport with the client.


    You know, someone comes into their initial appointment today. I'm nervous on this webinar. So there you go.


    But they're nervous they're going to divulge their entire, you know, story and journey.


    So it's about building rapport and really honing into what are their hobbies, what is someone passionate about.


    Another one is we do, everything we do here is individualised. So what we may do for this client, we may not do for that client.


    It's all about progressing that client. An example I always share is we had a client, a young man that really wanted to be a mechanic.


    Unfortunately due to his barriers, that was not going to be a successful journey for him.


    So as a DES provider, we sat down. He was passionate about cars, being a mechanic.


    What we then do did for that client, which we do for all, is we did some reverse marketing in our local area. We were lucky to craft a role for that client.


    He was an 8 hour benchmark.


    He's worked in that role for nine years. Even to this day when I see him. Hey Lisa. Hi Lisa. I'm still a mechanic.


    So to that client, we fulfilled his goal was to become a mechanic.


    That's where as a DES provider, really make sure your providers are working for you. You know, 'cause that follow up is really important.


    So I always set us as an EC homework and the client homework. Now that might sound really boring, we're not at school.


    But it's all about I suppose progression and also accountability and expectations of what we are going to deliver and and what we expect from our clients.


    Another part of that is we will deliver appropriate training and and services. So as Latoya was saying, we have a a toolbox of programmes we we run here.


    Yeah, the most common one we start with is grow is just talking about your goals, a resilience barriers other than your medical barriers.


    So for example, if someone was homeless, that's going to have an impact on them right here and right now.


    And how can we as a provider help or refer to, you know, services that can assist those people we provide?


    Yeah, personalised training supports for as long as that client needs.


    So most times when a client comes to us, they come in the EA phase, which is employment assistance, which really means we're exploring every option under the sun to assist that client reaching their goals.


    Once they do go into paid employment or whether that study, we then support them in what we call PPS post placement support.


    So don't leave us. We're supporting them the entire journey.


    And then after 26 weeks, if they want to, we can move them into ongoing support as well, which is there's no end date on that either.


    So that's really it in a real nutshell, Yes.


    What what does that support on the job look like? What kind of things would you be supporting someone with?


    Yeah, definitely. That's a great question for everyone. It's different.


    So an example of that is we had a young lady that she wanted to work in retail. So we we got her into a retail course.


    She successfully passed that and we crafted a role for her with our local Drakes.


    So the PPS, the support is with the employer as well as with the client.


    So the employer was saying that, you know, we've settled these tasks on a daily basis, but she's really taking a long time to complete them.


    Thank you so much. Then we went to the client. We sort of, we didn't say the employer come to us, but just, you know how you're finding it.


    And what it was is she was back filling the shelves and everything, but didn't know where everything went.


    So what we ended up doing is that support looked like aisle 1 is pictures, pictures, pictures of what was in that aisle.


    So should that speed up the process?


    Another example is if someone was having issues in the workplace, and that can be in all shapes and, and, and sizes and forms is just, you know, guiding that client.


    Well, this is what we, you know, this is what I would do to address that or this is what I would do, because not all clients want you to be their mum or dad.


    I don't want you to come into my workplace, those sorts of things.


    So the supports really, it can be from just motivation and confidence through to financial assistance with fuel cards, registration, metro top UPS.


    Whilst we're not a financial institution, we will assist where we definitely can. Yeah. Fantastic.


    That's good to know. I wasn't aware of those kind of programmes as well. That's great. Yeah.


    Now there has been a bit of focus on the disability employment services sector at the moment with the disability Royal Commission coming out last year, they did recommend some changes in this area and they have put out recommendations for a new DES model and some some other types of changes that will be coming out next year, I believe July.


    Do you want to just talk us through what some of those changes are what it might look like if I know it's hard because it's a bit vague at the very start but if there's anything sort of concrete that you're able to share.


    Yeah, that might be really helpful.


    Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Look at changes.


    I think there was a not a practise tender but a document that come out three months ago the tender's now being released it's completely different.


    So you know the rumour mills going wild.


    So my understanding is, and whether that actually happens from 2025 is that most clients that are in DES or DMS in our programme, after two years of service in with that provider, they exit us and then they can come back to us.


    We can directly register them or they can, you know, go, go and work with another provider. My understanding is that's not, there's not going to be a two year. Anymore.


    It also there's other changes where if someone was volunteering, because not employment is not for everyone.


    It's, it's those gradual progressions for that client.


    If someone was volunteering and they had an exemption in the system for a 12 month period because they are meeting their mutual obligations by undertaking voluntary work, they will be exited from the provider.


    They're the only two that really stand out for me. I, I, I think there is going to be a lot of changes.


    I'm not Privy to that information at this point in time, unfortunately, Erin. But yeah, it'll be interesting to see what that does look like.


    Yeah, yeah, yeah.


    Hopefully it we, we have had just probably a bit of the elephant in the room that I'm gonna mention, but we have had some community members in the past mentioned that they've, they've worked with Des and maybe haven't had, you know, as much interaction with them as they would need on that journey.


    So I guess that's what the the review found that there are just some providers, obviously not multiple solutions, but some providers that are maybe not providing that top level support.


    So this is a way to sort of fix that and make sure that as Latoya was saying before, that those people don't fall through the cracks, that NDIS and DES are working together and it's people are really getting that support that they need.


    So fingers crossed. It actually brings some real good change to the sector.


    Absolutely. Yep.


    Yeah, the other bit on that and I miss part of Latoya's, but that's OK, I'll catch up on it.


    On the the review bit, you know, I'm really big on, you know, if someone is on an NDIS plan is let's get the NDIS support person in, let's all be on the same page for that client.


    So then that way, you know and, and our contract rule as a DES and DMS provider is, you know, seeing our clients every 14 days.


    Well, we don't need to, if they want to come in weekly, we definitely encourage that and really try, try to limit where we can.


    The phone servicing, yeah, it's not for everyone. And that's, you know, by having clients coming in, it's that's they're engaging with our local communities as well.


    Yeah, fantastic.


    That's a really important part of it too. Absolutely.

    So I guess whether people are using Des or NDS sports or both or none, there are some things that everyone can do that's, you know, on their employment journey, they might be able to help them.


    So it might be good to go through some things that will help people, you know, knowing how to find that job, things that might help with their confidence.


    So I'll just bring Latoya back on and we can maybe go through some practical tips and tools for job hunting that will hopefully help everyone out there.


    So there we go. All righty. Thanks for coming back, Latoya.


    So, Latoya, I'll start with you. How can people get a good sort of idea of what kind of work they might enjoy?


    Is this something that you help clients with in your role figuring out what type of thing to go for?


    Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. It can be a long process, it can be a process of having a rather few little ideas and nutting out which is the best fit.


    But yeah, definitely it's establishing a vocational identity along the way, doing your research, looking at the different skills through that job, and yeah, looking at the skills, upskilling to be able to upskill.


    Is that something obtainable to you, looking at your soft skills and what you're good at?


    You're a great communicator. Would you be a good fit for retail?


    Are you someone that is tech savvy, you know, really focusing on your skills and trying to match that something you will enjoy And we also, you know, going on work experiences to get a taster of these different.


    Yeah, that's a good idea for you. Yeah, we really love that.


    And some people like the idea of retail but have concerns, for instance, about their social skills and their weight means to communicate with people because of their anxiety.


    And we've got them into a volunteer placement or work experience and to see the growth in them on these experiences.


    So I've even for myself as a young person, a person that was very low in confidence and gaining different exposure to different areas.


    Yeah. So, yeah, it's it's just about exploring and seeing what's a good fit and upskilling, if that's a possibility for you.


    So would you recommend people maybe like write out even just a list of these are the things I'm good at, these are the things I definitely don't want to do something like that.


    Yes, I can do, can't do, won't do, might do sort of thing.


    I think we have one of those things which is fantastic.


    You know, do you want to work indoors or outdoors, Do that pros and cons sort of list and really explore what's out there?


    Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Get a bit of an idea.


    I know as well. I have seen, I think if it might have the link there, but there is like job quizzes and stuff like that that you can do online that are sometimes really good, give you some ideas.


    Yeah. I think it's my future website and it has all the different industry and the career quizzes and you can really explore.


    Yeah, no, that's a really good one. Highly recommend.


    Yeah, yes. Amazing.


    So if someone has an idea of a, a, you know, an area that they might want to start working or volunteering, Lisa, how how would you recommend they go about, you know, starting to seek out opportunities for that?


    What are some first steps that people can take?


    So that's, you mean when they start volunteering or looking at volunteering, just when they're starting to look.


    Yeah, where to find an opportunity that might suit them.


    So going on from what Latoya said is we do a work, values, a worksheet with our clients so the clients can do that as part of their homework.


    What's really important is how far are you willing to travel? Because the guidelines say one thing, but you know, let's keep it real, you know, would you work inside, outside?


    Again, what Latoya said, what wouldn't you do?


    What would you do? Then it's all about I think it comes down to reverse marketing we have in our organisation and I think APM do the same, a business development manager.


    So getting them in front of that BDM and talking about they want retail going in and trying to craft a role for that client.


    You know, sometimes they'll they'll start the job. And no, I don't like this is not what I want or I want retail, but I want to do the 9:00 to 5:00 retail Monday to Friday.


    So really trying to craft it within benchmark hours. And we do that sort of once a week, a full day every Wednesday with our job ready clients.


    Yes, that's what we do. Yeah.


    And if there's someone that isn't accessing DES for whatever reason, they might not be eligible. Or anything like that?


    Is there anything when they're starting to look at these places, Obviously you would work with employers that, you know, mostly are gonna be disability friendly, right?


    Or hopes, you know, Yeah, yeah, absolutely.


    I'm assuming, yeah You've got like a roster of employers that you know, but if someone's starting without that kind of knowledge or support, is there anything that sort of can make it obvious that an employer is gonna be a good place to approach?


    Like that gives a good, you know, vibe that they're disability friendly, that they're gonna be a supportive environment.


    Anything like that that people can keep an eye out for?


    Great question. Not really. I think it's more about looking at policies, looking at readings, information online and stuff like that.


    You know, we've not that we've been hit and miss with employees, but some employers, you know, you'll place someone in that employment and then you start to hear things come back.


    So that's when you try and sit down with all parties involved, which is is disappointing in some cases.


    But really I suppose looking at the web pages, talking to some of the staff, if you felt comfortable doing that.


    Yeah. If you are with a DES provider, obviously we do a key three form where our clients will identify businesses they want us to make contact with.


    So, yeah, so I guess in answer to your question would be, yeah, just look at policies.


    There's a lot of organisations now that, you know, they have an inclusive policy and maybe talking to some of the staff or the actual, the, the, the manager or the owner of that business.


    Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I guess even job ads themselves, if you're, you know, at that, you know, point in the search, you can look for terms, you know, have they even made the application accessible?


    You know, some places you have to go through all these different computer systems and they make it really hard and just they might not be screen reader friendly or something like that.


    So there's probably some red flags along the way there that you could look out for too.


    Latoya, when someone has identified a place that they might want to work out a volunteer at, obviously they're getting ready to present themselves to the organisation in whatever way they're going to do that.


    But let's go through some ways that you can sort of present yourself well. So how would you recommend just on paper? That's probably the first step, I would say.


    What if some do you have any just like general tips on what to include in a cover letter or CV?


    Anything that you can do to add skills to your CV that might make it seem a bit like you've got experience when you don't have experience yet.


    You know that old circle, How do you get experience? Yeah, yeah, yeah.


    So if you, so, if you're starting out, you're just out of school, we really want to look at giving the employer or volunteer placement an idea of who you are.


    So we're thinking about our soft skills, we're thinking about your education that you've done at school.


    Any other volunteering role or hobbies that you have are a really good start.


    If you're haven't had any employment, it obviously changes if you have had some experience you want to highlight that that sort of thing, kind of, yeah.


    So, yeah. So just highlighting on your cover letter, if you don't have that experience as such, let's relate it.


    Let's, let's talk about our transferable skills and let's talk about, you know, with the right training, I'm able to, I think I'll be a great candidate and sell them on that point basically.


    And just try and make that good impression. Go in, present yourself well, practise, practise before you go in.


    Let's get a narrative up and how you're going to approach this.


    Volunteer places are usually crying out for volunteers and they love helping people and they also want to help people get employability skills as well.


    So let's don't put too much stress on yourself. Just see how you go, get a feel, explore.


    I think even checking on your local council website, volunteer opportunities is a really good place to start.


    Lisa, did you have something about resumes?


    Look, I recruit here and you know, I look at resumes and I guess there's three I, I look at when I'm looking at a resume, Is this person going to fit in with the team I already have?


    That's why I think hobbies are really important. And everyone will have an opinion.


    Erin, you'll have one. Latoya, you'll have one.


    So when I'm recruiting, I like to look at hobbies, OK, This person is fits in with everyone and not having a big lengthy resume.


    And you hit the nail on the head before Latoya. You know, we have our parents that are returning to work.


    I haven't worked in over 15 years. You've been a my at home mom that is the biggest full time parent.


    So putting those skills on there as well, you know, because as we know, you can put anything on a resume.


    I like to look at a resume along with a short cover letter, but meet the person. I like to meet the person, put the paperwork away.


    So on a resume, I think you know, a lot of resumes I see have a a personal statement. I'm looking to gain work in as a barista, but we're going for we're going for retail work.


    So, you know, I like to take that out of there or personalise that resume, add a bit of colour, add a bit of personality to your resume as well.


    I think it's really important. Yeah.


    And obviously something that's going to be personal to each person is the amount of support that they might need in a new workplace.


    Is that something that you would add into a cover letter or resume or is that something you would maybe mention in an interview instead or Yeah, Yep, that's a great question.


    I probably wouldn't in a cover letter.


    So if we're assisting a client, because unfortunately there are people out still out there in the world, in this big world that we live in that, you know, they see disability employment services, you know, that goes to that side, unfortunately, and I'm being very honest here.


    So we have cards made up that should someone have an interview and need assistance, we can attend with them.


    But that's when we can have that conversation with the employer, you know, we can offer, you know, wage subsidies and all those bits and pieces.


    Sometimes employers just say, I don't want that. I just want someone that's going to come to work, do the job to the best of their ability and go home.


    So, so in in answer to your question, Erin, I, I would probably not put that in a cover letter.


    You could maybe put in there that I am a client of multiple solutions for further information, but I probably would stay away from that.


    Just a very basic cover letter along with your resume. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.


    I second that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And it comes down to the individual as well.


    When and if they want to disclose of their disability, I think is really important if it's not going to have any impact on your role, you know, it's really up to the individual.


    And so sometimes we have a really good example from here from APM Futures during an interview process, a participant was got an interview which is really, really exciting for this individual.


    And the facilitator talked with the participant and he was very nervous about the interviews.


    So with the consent of the participant, the facilitator approached the business and got the interview questions that made them user friendly for that participant and other people.


    Yeah. And so we had the interview, it went really well. And the employer actually reached back out and said we absolutely love these interview questions and we're going to use these all the time.


    So it's just more user friendly. So you know, it's just, it's just, it's just depends on each everyone's situation.

     

    But yeah, I would be with Lisa there and probably going to cover later.


    It's just when you feel comfortable or have a think about if it's gonna affect your ability to work or you need those extra supports or things like that in place.


    Yeah, Very individual. Yeah, yeah, yeah.


    And obviously, if it's not something that's gonna impact your ability to do the role, it shouldn't come into their decision making anyway.


    I know that's living in a, you know, ideal world. Unfortunately, people do have to deal with bias.


    If someone did get asked a tricky question in an interview, is there sort of like maybe a phrase that people could keep in mind to counteract that?


    Or do you have any advice for sort of how to tackle that in person, like if it's a challenging question?


    Yeah, Yep. So during our interview preparation, we always there's something that I really, really like to instil is if you're asked, you know, you know, what's your weaknesses?


    Those sort of tricky interview questions.


    Let's give a let's brainstorm, let's be honest, but let's put, let's add how you've overcome that, what strategies you've been putting in place to overcome it or if it's an ongoing thing, but give that positive things that's showing your potential employer, your resilience and your motivation for growth is another way.


    Yeah, just something to really, yeah. So before you're going for an interview, think about the most common questions, any tricky questions, and come with a loaded answer.


    But provide that positive. Yeah. Put it over a positive spin.

     

    Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And as you said before, practise it.


    So maybe get a friend or family member or a support worker, anyone like that. They'll be able to sit with you and give you feedback as well.


    I think that's really important too. Absolutely.


    Or even just in front of the mirror, I think sometimes helps if you, if you don't have anyone around that can help you.


    Now what about when someone has found a job, they're in a job.

    Do you have any advice for if they're coming up against difficulties or how to, I guess if they, you know, need some extra support or something like that?


    Do you have any advice for once they're in a role, Lisa.


    Yeah, yeah, yes. So most clients know from DES and DMS is that they're going now into PPS post placement support. We explain what that means.


    So we always say to our clients, don't quit your job. You know, these days I leave work and go, what am I doing?


    But you know, we have those days and that's OK. So it's about open communication, talking to us about the problems in the workplace. So most times our PPS is conducted every week.


    And I like to ask the client, for example, Latoya, has your week been one been the the worst week 10 being the best because you're gonna answer 6, why has it been a six?


    So then we're unravelling that. So then they'll disclose, you know, either some personal impacts that may have, you know, personal concerns that are having an impact on work, but it's more about empowering the client.


    So if there isn't a concern in the workplace, we will try and give them strategies in which to manage that.


    If it's beyond managing and they really need that assistance, we would then organise a meeting with the employer and, and the client.


    But the entire time we would be updating our client, you know, this is what we're going to do. This is how we're going to. What would you like me to say?


    Because it empowers that client, it teaches them, and it's progression for that client as well. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.


    Latoya, I imagine that's the same for you. You know, we're talking about building capacity for later on. Is that similar?


    Yes, absolutely. Lisa's just nailed it there. And I think I'd just like to mention as well, it's important to know your rights in a workplace.


    So there's the Disability Discrimination Act, there's the Fair Work Act, and you can contact like the Fair Work Ombudsman, places like that, that can support you if you're, you know, being discriminated against or if it's anything of that nature.


    There are avenues for support out there. Also found a great website called Self Advocacy at Work, which I think is specifically for people with ASD to help them, you know, self advocate at work.


    So like communication skills and things like that. There'd be some good tips there. So that's just popped up the link for that one.


    Yeah, that's good. And oh, no, sorry, just just on that Fair Work website, there's also some little kind of like training little things. There's true.


    I can't remember what the first one was, but it's under giving you your rights. Yep, Yep.


    And there's another one having how to have those difficult conversations. Oh, fantastic with your employers. So that's their two really good resources too.

     

    So that's another way for anyone that's not able to come to DES or APM futures or NDI supports. Yeah, that's another good resource to have a look, and I really recommend that.


    Yep, yeah, absolutely. There's so many resources out there. If you can't access a particular service, there is a lot of stuff online.


    And you know, if you've got support workers around you or family and friends, like lean on them for support as well because you know, they can help you go through it.


    So that would be really helpful. Yeah. All righty. Well, we are almost at time, so I might just see if we've got any questions here.


    Let me, I did have a question that just came up when Lisa started speaking. Lisa, you spoke about new clients getting a medical evidence form submitted as part of receiving DES support services.


    So even if a person has, is there an NDIS participant the that DES eligibility is something that's entirely separate to that. So they'll need no thank.


    That's a great question, whoever put that question in the chat.


    So if you are in on an NDIS plan, all we would need is we would still need to have an assessment completed by Centrelink, but we would use the centre, your NDIS plan as evidence. So that's The only exception to the rule, Yes.


    Yeah, amazing cool. That was just wondering if there was more evidence that needed to be submitted.


    We we actually had a question into Kinora community just last week. A informal support. So someone's grandparent has written in and said my Oh no sorry parent.


    My 21 year old son is on the autism spectrum and is currently working casually in a cleaning job and he's very unhappy.


    He's registered with a DES provider, but they do not seem to be providing much support in finding a job that might suit him in which he might be happier.


    He has funds in his NDIS plan for finding and keeping a job, but I don't know who to use these funds with and or how to help him. So what would you suggest would be?


    So he's obviously working with a desk provider, but he also has NDIS funding for finding and keeping a job as well.


    Yeah. How would we talk about? Yeah, so that's again. So he's with the DES provider.


    He's probably built a relationship with his desk provider, but his mum's establishing that he might need some more help at this point to find him a role that's suitable and maybe some skill grow.


    So that's when you can look to NDIS employment supports, meet with them, have a chat with them, see if it will fit for you.


    We can also meet with your desk provider and see if we can dual service. Sometimes the desk provider might say, oh, we might suspend this for a little while while you work on this with him.


    And then us as a an NDIS support, we might get them into a work experience. It's coming up to they might be offered work.


    55:58
    So that's when we go back to the DES provider and say, oh, this person might be offered some work and they might need some incentives.


    That's when our DES providers come in and help secure that employment. It's really just working together.


    But yeah, I absolutely recommend if it's not quite working with DES at this current point in time to explore NDIS employment services.


    It doesn't mean that you need to leave DES altogether or anything like that. It's yeah, some people just need that extra support or extra time to find.


    Yeah, yeah. So definitely reach out. Yeah, it may not be the right fit as well.


    There's a lot of concerns that come into my head in that like we have clients come through here and I manage them and issue them to an EC.


    But I always say to the clients, we run once a month, welcome to multiple solutions.


    I introduce myself and the team, but I don't get it right all the time. So I might put Latoya with this EC, but it's not the right fit.


    Don't leave us, come talk to me. But it is freedom of choice. That client also has the right to go.

    Actually, there's no accountability these my expectations, this is not happening. They have the right to transfer to a different provider.


    So I just wanted to add that bit in there. Yeah, that's really a great point happening for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah.


    Thank you. Absolutely. And I, I guess that's the same with DES and NDIS service providers.


    So if you're not happy, yeah, you have choice and control to change to someone new.


    Obviously APM and multiple solutions, not everyone's going to access you guys specifically.


    So how would people find DES or an NDS provider locally to them? What's the best way do you think?


    We sort of talked about it at the top, but just as a quick, you know, in response to this question, how does someone know how to find an employment provider for NDIS Latoya, definitely reach out to you.


    Definitely reach out to your support coordinators and attend your disability Expos. A quick Google search will bring up places in your local area. There really is options out there.


    Yeah, yeah, fantastic. All righty. Well, I, I'm assuming we don't have any more questions today, so we've made it to the end of our webinar.


    Conversation doesn't have to end here though, you know, join us in Kinora.


    It's free if you're not a member already, and you can ask any other questions that you have in there if we haven't gotten to them today.


    Thank you so much, Lisa and Latoya for joining us today. Your insights and info I'm sure are really helpful for a lot of people watching this. So truly thank you for coming today.


    Thank you. Thank you, Erin, and Yvette and thank you everyone else for being here today as well.


    So we'll send you out an email with a link to this video as well as any of the resources that we've mentioned today. We'll pop them in the email for you too.


    I'm Erin and that was Yvette in the background as well. And today we've been joined by Lisa from Multiple Solutions and Latoya from APM Futures.


    Thanks again, and we'll see everyone in the Kinora community.

    • Lisa Kajanto from Multiple Solutions - Lisa is a dedicated Site Manager at Multiple Solutions, with 13 years of experience in the DES employment services industry, Lisa began her career as an Employment Consultant and has since made significant strides in her field. Her commitment and excellence were recognised when she received an International Women’s Day award in 2018.

    • Latoya Martin from APM Futures - Latoya has been in community services sector for 6 years, and is now a Facilitator in the Futures team at APM, She is passionate about helping her NDIS clients build skills to help reach their employment goals.

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