Page 4374 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Such programs will assist workplaces to develop their capacity to successfully work with people who may need things done differently in order for them to participate.
On a practical level, I am pleased to say that we are currently piloting an administrative traineeship program across ACT public service agencies. This program provides employment in clerical roles and a nationally recognised qualification in business administration for nine Canberrans with intellectual disabilities. It is likely that we will pursue similar initiatives through the strategy in order to create opportunities for people with disabilities to access employment in the public service. Importantly, we will establish career pathways for people at a range of qualification levels from school leavers to university graduates.
A process of internal and external consultation on the draft strategy is currently underway and, of course, I will not and should not pre-empt the outcomes of that particular process. However, proposed features on the initial action plan are likely to include providing multiple entry pathways for employment across the service; establishing a network to support employees with disabilities, and to promote broader awareness of disability issues within the ACT public service; and improving the availability of support, information and training for ACT public service staff and managers to increase confidence and capacity in employing staff with disabilities.
I have requested that consideration be given to the establishment of employment targets to provide a level of focus and direction to our efforts to improve disability employment outcomes. This approach is also currently being considered at the commonwealth level and has been introduced in varying forms in some state jurisdictions.
A potential benefit of the introduction of targets is to focus resources and attention towards achieving those outcomes which are being measured. The use of targets has the potential to provide a useful mechanism to achieve cultural change by raising organisational awareness and drawing attention to the valuable contribution which employees with a disability can make in the workplace when given the opportunity.
When setting targets we need to develop the necessary culture to support disability disclosure and build disability confidence. This will ensure that people recruited through the initiatives under the strategy have a positive employment experience. Of course, it is also important that targets are not viewed as an end in themselves but rather as benchmarks along a sustainable improvement path.
A key objective of the strategy is improving our understanding of the disability profile of our workforce. We plan to conduct a voluntary diversity census across our workforce to provide our staff with an opportunity to tell us about any disabilities they may have or which they have acquired during their employment in the ACT public service. By doing this, we hope to gain a better understanding of the frequency and nature of the disabilities represented within the ACT public service. This information is also important to establish realistic employment targets.
Possible indicators against which targets could be established include overall improvement in employment numbers of people with disabilities, representing an
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video