Road to employment: final evaluation report

Employment is a central pathway for wellbeing, participation and security. Australians with disability face barriers to finding and remaining in paid work. Road to employment is a 3 year, government-funded project to increase employment opportunities for people with disability, change employment practices and influence work expectations of families and employers. The project applies a life-course approach to address barriers to employment.

The project achieved its intended and funded objectives. It worked with employers in a community of practice approach and delivered business mentoring to industries (aged care, accounting and finance and councils). The project also delivered workshops to pre-school parents, Year 5/6 students, parents and educators, and engaged Year 9 and 10 students, their families and teachers.

Road to employment reached three diverse industries and employer groups; many people with disability at different life-stages; and some families. The project achieved this by working with a defined practice framework. The elements of the framework were: harnessing lived experience leadership by people with disability; investment in relationships; iterative reflection, modification and review; peer group industry-driven change goals (like the traineeship model or the accounting finance inclusion toolkit); the project team providing the external facilitator perspective and ‘hands-on’ inclusion support to employers.

Evidence of the impact from the project was: 122 people with disability were engaged in the project, and 22 were paid to deliver or facilitate workshops and mentoring; 8 people participated in traineeships and 6 secured ongoing employment. People said these opportunities helped them progress their careers, consider new career goals, grow in confidence and feel more valued and respected.

Three lessons from the Road to employment project are indicators for the future:

1. Employers required different types of inclusion capacity building over time, including identifying barriers, carving out tailored roles and creating a supportive workplace culture. Inclusion capacity building was not a linear or one-off process.
2. The traineeship model demonstrated that with the right level and types of support, confidence and capacity building, people with disability achieved their employment and training goals.
3. When people with disability became active members of schools, workplaces and communities it benefited them and created opportunities to challenge and improve organisational practices, beliefs and expectations.