the level of resources that could be necessary to deliver meaningful employment placements for people with disabilities, particularly for those jobseekers who may be difficult to place and require greater investment of resources. Incidents of abuse, bullying and discrimination in open employment also contribute to the return of many individuals with disabilities to ADEs. PDCN members have described ADEs as being a safe space within which they feel a sense of community and inclusion, many having experienced significant social isolation or bullying while in education. Question 5. How can more supported employees be provided the opportunity to choose open employment? PDCN recommends DES providers continue building relationships with businesses within the open employment sector to increase the number of friendly’ employers. Negative ‘disability attitudes are held by many employers, and throughout the community, about the productivity and capabilities of people with disabilities and perceptions that they present a higher work health and safety risk. PDCN believes greater education for employers and promotion of employment of people with disabilities would assist in dispelling the negative assumptions and attitudes about people with disabilities. Employers need to be provided with the knowledge and skills to develop more inclusive workplaces and implement recruitment and retention strategies that support people with disabilities. Better promotion of the government programs and supports available to employers would also foster a more inclusive employment market, creating an environment where more supported employees could successfully transition into open employment. PDCN recommends improving communication and building stronger relationships between ADEs, people with disabilities in supported employment, DES providers and employers in the open market as it will lead to more suitable and permanent job placements. The more person centred the process and detailed the information available about the jobseeker during the employment placement, the less likely an individual is to drop out of open employment. In addition, DES employees supporting individuals with disabilities to find and maintain open employment need to have the appropriate skills and experience to understand the individual’s needs. Question 6. Why is participant access to concurrent DES and ADE support services so low? PDCN agrees with the suggestion in the discussion paper that these numbers reflect a lack of awareness of the options available to eligible supported employees. PDCN believes improving the promotion of these services and targeting to suitable employees could significantly increase the numbers concurrently accessing DES and ADE support services. PDCN fully supports the establishment of transitional options to enable individuals with disabilities who are interested in open employment to explore this while still having the security
the level of resources that could be necessary to deliver meaningful employment placements for people with disabilities, particularly for those jobseekers who may be difficult to place and require greater investment of resources. Incidents of abuse, bullying and discrimination in open employment also contribute to the return of many individuals with disabilities to ADEs. PDCN members have described ADEs as being a safe space within which they feel a sense of community and inclusion, many having experienced significant social isolation or bullying while in education. Question 5. How can more supported employees be provided the opportunity to choose open employment? PDCN recommends DES providers continue building relationships with businesses within the open employment sector to increase the number of ‘disability friendly’ employers. Negative attitudes are held by many employers, and throughout the community, about the productivity and capabilities of people with disabilities and perceptions that they present a higher work health and safety risk. PDCN believes greater education for employers and promotion of employment of people with disabilities would assist in dispelling the negative assumptions and attitudes about people with disabilities. Employers need to be provided with the knowledge and skills to develop more inclusive workplaces and implement recruitment and retention strategies that support people with disabilities. Better promotion of the government programs and supports available to employers would also foster a more inclusive employment market, creating an environment where more supported employees could successfully transition into open employment. PDCN recommends improving communication and building stronger relationships between ADEs, people with disabilities in supported employment, DES providers and employers in the open market as it will lead to more suitable and permanent job placements. The more person centred the process and detailed the information available about the jobseeker during the employment placement, the less likely an individual is to drop out of open employment. In addition, DES employees supporting individuals with disabilities to find and maintain open employment need to have the appropriate skills and experience to understand the individual’s needs. Question 6. Why is participant access to concurrent DES and ADE support services so low? PDCN agrees with the suggestion in the discussion paper that these numbers reflect a lack of awareness of the options available to eligible supported employees. PDCN believes improving the promotion of these services and targeting to suitable employees could significantly increase the numbers concurrently accessing DES and ADE support services. PDCN fully supports the establishment of transitional options to enable individuals with disabilities who are interested in open employment to explore this while still having the security