Project dates: 2022 - Ongoing
Young adults (15-24) with a psychosocial disability suffer significant disadvantage when it comes to employment. This project responds by (1) gathering evidence on how best to prepare and support 120 young adults to launch their retail career; (2) co-designing and delivering a training, placement and coaching program tailored to the needs of participants; and (3) ensuring that the required supports are provided to both participants and employers to maximise the likelihood of sustainable employment.
Why is this important?
According to AIHW, young adults (15-24 years) with a disability are more than twice as likely to be unemployed (25%) than young adults without a disability (12%). They are also likely to experience longer periods of unemployment, making it particularly important that they have access to viable career pathways. NDIS data reveals that among working aged people, psychosocial disability had the greatest prevalence among young adults (16%). This project responds by developing a “retail ready” program to prepare young adults with psychosocial disability for a range of entry-level retail positions.
What will we do?
The program will be refined over 6 intakes in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne; with each intake building on the experiences and feedback from participants and employers from previous intakes. Materials and insights from the program will be made available to support dissemination and adoption beyond the project end date.
Funding / Grants
- Information, Linkages and Capacity Building - Economic and Community Participation Program (Building Employer Confidence and Inclusion in Disability) (2022 - 2024)
Chief Investigators
- Professor Byron Keating
- Professor Gary Mortimer
- Professor Amanda Beatson
- Associate Professor Frank Mathmann
Team
Other Team Members
- Dr Iain Waller (QUT)
- Rick Kane (Disability Employment Australia)
- Jason Robertson (Australian Retailers Association)
Partners
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Academic publications
- Ahmad, K., Khanam, R., Keating, B., Keramat, S.A., Hashmi, R., Kabir, E., & Jueges, H. (2022). The healthcare cost burden of a long-term medical condition or disability: A longitudinal population-based study of Australian children (working paper).
- Beatson, Amanda, Riedel, Aimee, Chamorro-Koc, Marianella, Marston, Greg, Stafford, Lisa (2021). Factors influencing the journey to work for young people with physical and/or neurological conditions.
- Stafford, Lisa, Marston, Gregory, Chamorro-Koc, Marianella, Beatson, Amanda, Drennan, Judy (2017). Why one size fits all approach to transition in Disability Employment Services hinders employability of young people with physical and neurological disabilities in Australia.
Other outputs
- Mathmann, F. (2021). When for whom and why do frontline employees with disabilities affect perceptions of retail brands (Report for Australian Retailers Association).
- Stafford, Lisa, Marston, Greg, Mitchell, Sammy, Beatson, Amanda, Chamorro-Koc, Marianella (2020). Insights into young people with disabilities’ education to work journeys: Submission to Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability on Employment Issues.
