Story by Ricardo Gonçalves, Finance Editor

A new report by Jigsaw highlights a huge talent pool not being harnessed.

Jigsaw commissioned YouGov to conduct market research with Australian managers and HR professionals to uncover their attitudes toward – and perceived barriers to – the employment of people with disability.

With a backdrop of a Disability Royal Commission and reform of existing Australia Government Disability Employment Services (DES), Jigsaw aims to raise awareness and uncover the barriers to achieving inclusivity of Australians with disability in the workforce.

Half of Australian managers and HR executives say they have never hired or worked with a person with a disability, despite 2.1 million Australians with disability being of working age.

Paul Brown, chief executive of disability employment organisation Jigsaw, says in the tight labour market, it’s time for a “seismic shift in how employers engage with the disability workforce”.

The Jigsaw research comes as big firms including Westpac and Allianz urge employers facing staff shortages to recruit applicants with a disability.

By Tom McIlroy, Political reporter

Major firms including Westpac and Allianz have urged employers facing staff shortages to recruit applicants with a disability, backing in a push by the Albanese government on lifting barriers to meaningful work.

Ahead of September’s jobs and skills summit, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has been charged with driving cultural change among corporate bosses and peak industry groups, as 480,000 positions sit vacant nationally.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers this week announced expanding employment opportunities would be a focus of the jobs summit.

New research by disability employment organisation Jigsaw shows half of Australian managers and HR executives said they had never hired or worked with a person with disability, despite 2.1 million Australians with disability being of working age. Just 47.8 per cent of the cohort are employed.

Nearly 80 per cent of Australian businesses told researchers that job-ready applicants with disability could help address labour shortages worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barriers existed for 65 per cent of employers, who said they were unsure how or where to access potential workers with a disability. Jigsaw found 91 per cent of businesses that have hired a person with disability using the federal government’s Disability Employment Services (DES) system faced challenges in hiring and retaining candidates.

“In a workforce as tight as we’re currently facing, it’s time for a seismic shift in how employers engage with the disability workforce, and how governments support them to do so,” chief executive Paul Brown said.

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Read the rest of the article on the AFR website here (paywall) or click below to read a PDF.

Luke Henriques-Gomes, social affairs and inequality editor

YouGov poll indicates nearly one in 10 HR professionals were not open to recruiting a person with disability in the future.

Half of Australian managers and human resources professionals say their organisation has never hired a person with disability and nearly one in 10 admit they wouldn’t want to in the future, according to a new survey.

The YouGov survey of 501 Australian middle managers and HR professionals also found dissatisfaction with the $1bn-a-year disability employment services program (Des), which pays private providers to place jobseekers into work.

The survey, commissioned by the social enterprise Jigsaw, comes as the Albanese government urges businesses ahead of its upcoming jobs summit to employ people with disability to meet labour force shortages.

The survey found 50% of Australian managers/HR professionals said they or their business have never hired or worked with a person with disability.

 

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Read the full article here on The Guardian website, or click below to read a PDF.

By Nas Campanella, ABC News

Jigsaw trainee Olivia and Jigsaw Transitions Coordinator, Michael were featured on ABC News on Monday 22 November 2021.

The news story marked the start of the Royal Commission’s hearing on measures taken by employers and regulators to respond to systemic barriers to open employment for people with disability.

The story features Jigsaw trainee Olivia as a case study of a pathway to employment that has been successful, and the myriad of benefits to employees and employers when inclusive workplaces are created.