Job Access: Driving Disability Employment- Part C

This blog was first published by The Dignity Project in June 2021.

The Dignity Project team spoke to some of our members about their own experiences with Job Access, including their stories and advice, this week we are joined by Lindsay Nott – MyC5Life, and Dr Scott Hollier – Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder at Centre for Accessibility Australia.

Dr Scott Hollier

Getting a foot in the door when it comes to employment is one of the hardest things I’ve tried to do as a legally blind person, but I’d like to encourage others that it can work out in the end.

My first job interview was for an entry-level IT position at a state government department – and it seemed to go well, so I was surprised when I didn’t get the job. Perhaps it was arrogance on my part, being 21 and trying to prove myself, but I decided to try and find out why and took up the offer of the department to call them for feedback. I was told that the other person had more experience, which at the time surprised me as there was no particular experience required for that position.

My second interview was similar to the first, except that I noticed a definite point at which the atmosphere in the interview changed – right when I mentioned my eyesight. It was for a large multinational firm, who were advertising an IT job with a mentoring component, which sounded ideal, and the interview was going really well. When there was an opening, I mentioned that while I didn’t anticipate it would be a problem, I just wanted to briefly explain my eye condition – keeping it positive. It’s also worth bearing in mind, that at this point there would have been no obvious way to tell I was vision impaired. Once I’d explained how it worked, a frost descended on the room. After a few more questions one of the panellists said, ‘So, I guess you can’t drive, huh?’ to which I answered, ‘No.’ There was no requirement for driving in the selection criteria, but after some mad scribbling of notes by the panel, they thanked me for my time. The rejection letter turned up in the mail sometime later.

After six months of the same pattern of making the interview process, but missing out on the position, I decided that what I really wanted to do was work as a helpdesk person and I sent a letter to every Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Western Australia, about 50 in all. After a week I started to receive phone calls but unfortunately a fair few of the jobs required a car. Eventually, though, I was employed by an internet provider.

Despite the undignified experiences leading up to this point, there were two factors that made getting this job possible. Firstly, by writing to every ISP in the state, I was taking the initiative – which helped with my self-esteem no end. Secondly, I was confident that I could do the job, and that helped immensely in the interview process. When I went in for the interview, the CEO explained that quite often there was a need to travel, and asked, like the others, whether I had a license. This time I was prepared and answered, ‘No, but if I need to get anywhere, I will pay for the taxi at my own expense.’ Not only did I get the job, but in the two years I worked there, I never needed to go anywhere. Sometimes employment is as much about marketing yourself, as it is about job.

Once I had experience from my first job, opportunities to grow throughout my career have kept appearing. It hasn’t been a smooth road, but with perseverance, it has come together. I have not used the Job Access Network (JAN) very often in my career and do not use it presently. My first experience of JAN was when I worked in Sydney for two years and was provided assistance by way of a desktop screen magnifier. This assistive technology cost many thousands of dollars, and Job Access helped support it. It’s good that the service is there, but the process was very complicated, and I suspect the cost of the products had been inflated, and were even more expensive than they should have been, because the supplier knew Job Access would pay for it.

Now as a CEO of a not-for-profit myself, I often reflect back in time, especially as the unemployment rate for people with disability has barely changed since the 1990s when I went looking for my first job. Encouragingly though, attitudes are changing – there’s more opportunities than ever before to make work accessible, and the pursuit of education can make so many employment dreams come true – eventually! It’s been my observation that most of the barriers to employment are brought into the room before the person with disability even gets there, so I’d encourage potential employers and potential employees to consider what those barriers are, so that capable and dedicated people with disability can get to work with the dignity they deserve.

Lindsay Nott – MyC5Life

Independence is happiness! I love technology and being gainfully employed and am open to hearing about ways different advancements can be used to my benefit and to make my job easier and more accessible. Technology is moving at a fast pace, and there are technologies available now, that were not around when I sustained my injury, which have helped me to become increasingly independent in the workplace.

I have been employed most of my life. Presently, I work in an administration role for LifeTec in Brisbane, which is a role I enjoy. My employer has been very supportive, and I work in an environment which is inclusive and accessible. I had the assistance from an Occupational Therapist (OT) and Job Access upon commencement of the role and was provided with suitable accessible and adaptive technologies that aid my work processes.

Whilst Job Access does not support the funding for items such as computers, mobile phones, watches etc., they will assist with funding (either partly subsidised or outright) for assessable/adaptive equipment outside what an employer would be expected to provide. Thus, my employer provided my basic workstation set up, including a desktop computer, keyboard, mouse and landline telephone, whilst Job Access has supported me with funding for items such as an adjustable desk that can be raised or lowered, a wireless headset, document holder, flip chart and Dragon speech recognition software.

Whilst I do not like a lot of tech and prefer to keep things simple, I make great use of the wireless headset, which I use to make and receive business calls and for online team meetings. In the case of online meetings, as our meeting room is restricted for space, I am able to participate using Microsoft Teams, and remain at my desk, where using the wireless headset, I participate in meetings with my colleagues without the need for being physically present in the meeting room – which is beneficial.

Overall Job Access have been an incredible support to me. My overall experience was smooth and successful, due to the valuable assistance from my OT, who was familiar with the process, protocols and supporting documents required. I also worked with my Spinal Life clinicians, who assisted by writing supporting documentation for my application. I have made several applications for new tools over the years but was only visited in the workplace by an independent assessor upon the first application. It seems that once you have been accurately and fairly assessed and the right paperwork is filed away in the Job Access system, further requests are streamlined, without the need repeat reporting and assessment.

For more information, contact the Job Access Network:

Website: https://www.jobaccess.gov.au¹

Online Enquiry Form: https://www.jobaccess.gov.au/contacts/online-enquiry-form

Phone: 1800 464 800

TTY: 1800 555 677 (Then ask for 1800 464 800)