The Employment Buddy Program is available to young people aged between 15 – 24.
Essential Personnel and Rise have been successful in securing a grant to deliver case management service to support young people with disability to develop their job readiness skills. Essential Personnel is a not-for-profit organisation with over 30 years’ experience of providing high quality disability services across the Wheatbelt and Metropolitan area.
As part of this partnership, Rise is focusing on sourcing and assisting organisations to provide a successful work placement opportunity. This includes sourcing the placement organisations with Essential and providing training to the workplace buddy of the hosting organisation. This initiative is a unique 12 months program that combines Case Management, Education and Work Sampling Placements to potentially 50 young people across the Perth Metro area.
A key change for young people with disability when they enter employment is that they often struggle with social and cultural workplace interaction, as a professional working environment depends on collaboration with co-workers and confidence to generate and present ideas. This unique program will work to provide participants with individual development opportunities that will increase their confidence in the workplace and give them a better understanding of what sort of job they would like in the future.
Currently three positions are available to develop and deliver this program. More information is available here:
Coordinator employed by Rise
Case Manager employed by Essential Personnel
Group Facilitator employed by Essential Personnel
More about the Employment Buddy Program
The Buddy will be a workplace mentor who will provide the participant with the opportunity to experience supported employment and gain an insight into the roles and responsibilities of that particular position. To be a Buddy, the employee will need to commit to undertake the Buddy Leadership Course and provide up to four hours of practical employment experience for each participant.
The Buddy Leadership Course will be training modules which will enhance leadership skills, awareness of disability in the workplace and community advocacy skills. The training will need to be completed before agencies can accept placements into their organisation.
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Your input as a Co-Designer will help us to create the best Employment Buddy Program.
Then apply to express your interest here.