The Mature Aged Workers Pilot
Pilot Lead: Achieve by Design
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| Mature Aged Worker Information Session | Project leads David Hill and Susan Beaumont |
Aim
This innovative WIC project aims to encourage people aged 55 and above to consider frontline disability support work, regardless of their previous work experience.
About
Research shows that the secret to ageing well is staying active, connected and engaged in meaningful activity. Project leads David Hill and Susan Beaumont from Achieve by Design are showing that the disability sector presents a great opportunity for mature aged men and women.
In Stage 1 of the project, through interviews, workshops and information sessions, mature aged people have heard about the many opportunities for flexible and meaningful work in the disability sector, and responded very positively. Stage 2 of the project has given participants an opportunity to meet disability employers, explore training and employment pathways and participate in peer mentoring workshops.
Communication - a partnership with service users
Pilot Lead: Sharing Places
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| Lucinda | Manpreet Kaur, Mary-Ann Kal and Kylie Stokes from Sharing Places |
Aim
This exciting WIC Pilot run by Sharing Places Inc., the leading specialist service in the ACT supporting people with disabilities and high and complex support needs, aims to find ways to optimise communication between support workers and people living with a disability (and their families/carers).
About
In the first stage of the pilot, information was gathered from support workers and service users via questionnaires, focus groups, and feedback on existing and new communication channels and methods. With the research phase complete, the pilot is now testing new tools and innovative methods to improve the quality of communication between clients and support workers, thus leading to improved service delivery to clients and improved relationships between clients and support workers.
Read more about this pilot on our News and Events page
Roles Based Recruitment
Pilot Lead: Imagine More
Aim
This innovative pilot aims to expand the disability workforce by focussing on recruiting disability support workers based on the theory of ‘social role valorisation’. It is anticipated that people who otherwise may not have considered work in disability support will be attracted to the role via a special recruitment process.
A drumming coach recruited into a specialised disability support worker role.
About
Imagine More are working with NDIS self-managing participants and their families to provide information on effective practices of recruiting disability support staff. Additionally, they are using the theory of social role valorisation (SRV) to attract the best-fit potential workers. Recruiting support staff for a particular role as opposed to a general role may help attract people into the sector who would otherwise not consider working as a disability support worker. It is likely that those recruited will be from a wider demographic, such as a sports coach or communications mentor. These specialised roles will enable people living with a disability to effectively develop skills necessary for them to achieve personal goals with the support of the specialised disability support worker.
User Support Network
Pilot Lead: Achieve by Design
Participants in a Co-Design Workshop
Aim
In this innovative project, the pilot is bringing together people with a disability and support workers to co-design a model for a user and support worker network. This will address the common goals of having:
- consistent supply of well-regarded support workers for clients (users),
- consistent work with well-known clients for disability,
- mutually respectful and rewarding professional relationships between clients (users) and support workers,
About
The User-Support Network pilot is based on a co-operative labour pool model whereby people with disabilities (who are self-managed or plan-managed) are able to call on each other’s support workers when their own might be unavailable. Therefore, clients will have replacement support workers who they might call on regularly, resulting in stronger working relationships. The model will also provide excellent opportunities for support workers by providing them with greater opportunities for increased work hours, greater variety in their work, and peer support and training opportunities. In this innovative pilot, Achieve by Design, has called upon plan-managed and self-managed people with a disability and disability support workers to assist in the co-design of the model and testing of the same.
CALD Pathways
Pilot Lead: Uniting Care Kippax
Aim
This exciting pilot led by Uniting Care- Kippax aims to increase the capacity of the ACT disability workforce by providing work pathways for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
Information Session for people from a CALD background
Background
Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people can often come up against significant challenges to gaining employment. This pilot will support interested people from CALD backgrounds to become ready to commence training in disability support work. Increasing the representation of people with CALD backgrounds in the ACT disability workforce will also provide greater opportunities to match people with disabilities with workers from the same cultural background.
Participant Led Videos
Pilot Lead: Summer Foundation
Cathy Buculo - Summer Foundation
Aim
The objectives of this pilot are: to train ACT disability & health sector professionals and support coordinators in the use of the participant-led video (PLV) process and tools, develop resources to guide participants in the most effective way to share and use their video, and develop a communication and engagement strategy to inform NDIS participants of PLVs and the support they need to make these in their NDIS plans.
About
Many people with a disability and cognitive-communication impairment are unable to provide direction and feedback to support workers ‘in the moment’. Participant-led videos (PLVs) overcome this barrier by enabling the person with a disability to tell their “story” to new support staff via a video that they have been assisted to create. In this pilot, Summer Foundation will be expanding on the project work done in 2018 funded through the Innovative Workforce Grant, by training ACT disability & health sector professionals and support coordinators in the use of the participant-led video process and tools. An additional resource to guide people in the most effective way to share and use their training video will also be developed. The pilot will also include the development of a communication and engagement strategy to inform NDIS participants of PLVs and how they can achieve funding for support they need to make these in their NDIS plans. It will also connect them to the practitioners who have completed the training in the ACT and fund the cost of practitioner time to support the development of 15 PLVs.
Read more about this pilot on our News and Events page
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