More and more employers are recognising the
talents and passion that disabled staff bring to
the workplace, and the benefits to their business.
I would say any business that says it's too hard
to employ someone with a disability
probably hasn't tried it.
There are so many people that are
touched with a disability, why not represent
that community in our workforce?
What we can do is work with them to
look at how possibly we can modify the workplace,
provide new workstations, new access ways to
allow that individual to potentially return to their role.
Work shapes our lives.
It's an outlet for our passions and our creativity.
It's turned my life around.
It's nice to be in an environment where
the wheelchair's not a barrier.
Throughout New Zealand, there are tens of thousands
of people with disabilities who want to work,
and just need to find a supportive employer.
The biggest adjustment for employers is
getting their head around employing a
disabled person.
I've still got a career ahead of me,
it'll just have to be a little bit different.
I had the passion and because I believed in myself,
that helped them believe in me.
We have six people that work at Bunnings that
have disabilities of some varying ranges.
Some of them intellectual, we have a couple that are
hearing impaired, but really it's not a barrier.
Education provider Wintec, is one of Hamilton's
largest employers and yet, up until four years ago
they didn't have an employment policy
relating to people with disabilities.
We were sitting in a room doing legal compliance
and counting disability toilets.
And someone had the question
'We have all these disability toilets, but
where are all the disabled people?'
They are open to my disability and the things
that may be hard for me, so they know that
maybe I need a little bit of help.
These people are normally the highest performers
in the organisation.
Fairfax Media consciously and deliberately
embrace diversity in the workplace.
Chloe and Emma each have an intellectual disability.
Neither girl had worked before, but their employer
soon found valid tasks for the girls
to be trained to fulfill.
I love it. You know, the people are really nice,
the company's nice, my boss is amazing!
When someone is disabled as a consequence of
an injury or accident, work can be a positive part
of rehabilitation.
I believe most people would like to return to work.
I think that the sense of self-worth and purpose.
Not to mention the financial association with work
is very, very important. Now often times,
it means that people can't necessarily,
after a serious accident, return to a role that
they once had or held previously.
But what we seek to do is to work with them
in that rehabilitation process to allow them to
get the skill sets to return to
some form of employment.
Tree falling would be one of the most dangerous
jobs in the forests, and it's making sure that
when we send someone up that we know that
they're confident.
Danny McBride's a safety officer in the
forestry industry. It's a role he only
took on after he sustained a spinal injury.
A tree fell on him crushing his spine.
My boss had said straight away that, after I had operation and that,
that 'I'll have a job for you and you don't have to worry about that'
and I think that it's just been a great journey really.
Jai Waite knew he would need to re-train after a spinal injury.
I always thought that I'd be able to work,
no question, it just meant that I couldn't do any
physical jobs, it just had to be something behind a desk.
He now works as a documentary editor.
Being an editor was something
that I'd always had a passion for, and that's when I thought
'well, I'll see if there's a course out there that will
suit me'.
For me to work, the only real thing I needed to adapt was
on my desk and I've got Ergo rests,
which allow me to rest my arms and shoulders.
I do remember the bars of driving to work,
and kind of, going 'yeah, I've got somewhere to be, I', just like everyone else'.
It's amazing what people can achieve if they're just
given a few tools and support.
A lot of hearing people with businesses will say
'deaf people can't do that' but Jane's not like that.
She thinks we can do anything.
The message is - talk to us. I think that's really important.
And certainly our team are trained and willing to
support employers into making those adjustments in the workplace.
I would say to any employer out there to give it a go,
because it's definitely worth it.
And it can also be the cornerstone to your culture.
Absolutely give it a go. Why not step up and make a difference.