Today's session will be going
0:31
through on disability consonant programs
0:33
that are rather the Australian network
0:35
of disability so my name is Isabel Heine
0:38
and I'm one of the stepping into and
0:40
phase mentoring program coordinators
0:42
here at the Australia Network on
0:43
disability I'm based in our Melbourne
0:46
office however our Sydney office is our
0:49
head office but most of our team is
0:51
there we do have two other team members
0:52
that work on the programs in the Sydney
0:54
office so today we'll be going through a
0:58
bit of information about these stepping
1:00
into and pace mentoring programs for
1:03
university students with disabilities so
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thank you all for dialing in and I
1:07
appreciate you taking the time to hear
1:10
thethe information that I'm going to be
1:11
giving today the questions will very
1:15
much be welcome feel free at any point
1:17
to just call out and ask any questions
1:22
at all I'm also happy to answer
1:23
questions at the end and I'll give my
1:25
contact details so you can direct any
1:28
questions towards me via email or call
1:30
if that's your preference so today we'll
1:34
be going through a bit of an overview to
1:38
the Australian network on disability
1:39
then I'll go through some information
1:40
about the pavement touring program we'll
1:43
talk about the stepping into internship
1:45
program and then about sharing
1:47
information in the workplace so talking
1:49
a little bit about disability management
1:50
and we're close adjustments we've found
1:53
them a lot of students are quite
1:54
interested in hearing about those
1:56
they're right in that field and then
2:00
I'll briefly go over the webinar that we
2:01
have coming up in the next few weeks so
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the Australian Network on disability is
2:07
a member based organisation so we are a
2:09
not-for-profit organisation and we have
2:11
a mission to create
2:13
bility complicate Australia so we think
2:15
the best way of doing that is by working
2:17
directly with employers so we being a
2:21
member based organization means that we
2:23
have it about 170 organizations that we
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work with from all sectors so across
2:29
Australia and we work with those member
2:32
organizations to equip them with the
2:34
knowledge and the skills that they need
2:36
to be disability confident in all
2:37
aspects of their business so whether
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that be with their employees or their
2:41
customers or um other stakeholders that
2:44
they work with so we offer consultation
2:48
and training we give advice on HR
2:51
policies and how to remove areas from
2:53
recruitment processes and we also allow
2:57
our member organizations to participate
2:59
in the programs we run so that being the
3:01
pace mentoring program and the stepping
3:04
into an internship program
3:06
all right so I'm gonna charity or a
3:09
recruitment agency but we do perform
3:11
some recruitment through the our
3:13
stepping into internship programs
3:15
however our main focus is really on
3:17
educating our member organizations on
3:20
how to be inclusive and their disability
3:22
constant in their workplace so I
3:25
mentioned we have about 170 member
3:28
organizations that we work with so these
3:31
are organizations up on the screen are
3:34
just a few of the organizations within
3:36
our network so all these organizations
3:40
are welcome to participate in the pace
3:43
mentoring and stepping into internship
3:45
programs so a lot of them do host
3:48
interns or volunteer to be a part of the
3:51
mentoring program so in partnership with
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our member organizations we run two
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programs for students um job seekers
4:00
with disabilities so the pace mentoring
4:03
program and the stepping into internship
4:05
program and now both of these organizes
4:08
these on programs are designed to be
4:10
mutually beneficial so it not only
4:14
helped our member organizations to meet
4:16
their diversity goals but it also
4:19
allowed for advice to be given and
4:23
hands-on experience within the workplace
4:24
that she was said that job seekers
4:27
the both of the programs are free so
4:29
participation for both students and job
4:31
pieces I'll start by talking a little
4:35
bit about the pace mentoring program we
4:38
do have a video here but I'd like to
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play see you on the ghost for a couple
4:42
of minutes so hopefully it will laugh
4:43
the interest
7:03
you
7:28
you
8:07
so that was just a little bit of
8:09
information about the the pace mentoring
8:11
program so pace stands for positive
8:13
action towards career engagement and the
8:16
program is designed to facilitate
8:17
opportunities for people with disability
8:20
to develop skills and confidence in the
8:22
workplace setting and also to assist you
8:24
in your job search and personal
8:26
development so the Angus to give
8:28
students and job seekers a range of
8:29
skills and experience and advice in the
8:31
workforce as well as providing mentors
8:33
with a rewarding and developmental
8:35
experience the pace is designed to be
8:38
equally beneficial to mentees mentors
8:40
and participating organizations it's an
8:43
opportunity to learn these perspectives
8:44
and approaches while breaking down many
8:47
different stereotypes that are often
8:48
associated with people accessibility in
8:50
the workforce so what exactly is a
8:55
mentor a mentor is a sounding board so
8:59
that's probably the main thing that we
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hear from when people talk about what a
9:03
mentor is so the to bounce ideas off
9:08
endure to listen and give us an exam or
9:10
suggestions they may give assistance in
9:13
next steps and help us to our network or
9:16
even be a role model for you
9:18
so mentors present our machines with
9:21
information and a cementing role to take
9:24
this information and advice and create
9:26
action
9:27
so while mentor is going skills in
9:31
communication and leadership and have
9:32
the opportunity to give back and provide
9:34
guidance to someone just starting their
9:37
career men Jesus or other ones in the
9:40
relationship who drive and the
9:42
partnership and they ever want to seek
9:44
the information and ideas in terms of
9:47
clarifying their own goals and next
9:49
steps so in regard to the commitment for
9:54
the pace mentoring program so students
9:57
decide to apply for the program must be
10:01
available to participate to the 12-week
10:03
program so we run it twice a year
10:05
probablyfulfill July and from September
10:08
until December
10:09
you'd be expected to attend at least six
10:12
meetings with your mentor in their
10:14
workplace
10:15
I think meetings are generally going for
10:17
once too
10:19
as a mentee it's your responsibility to
10:21
lead the meeting so arrange the time set
10:24
the agenda and discuss the goals and
10:27
you're also expected to attend the
10:29
briefing as well as the mid program
10:32
check-in where myself or my colleagues
10:34
will ask you how other place beyond
10:36
mentorship is going and we also run a
10:39
networking event at the end of the
10:41
session after there's a 12-week program
10:43
completed and you'll be expected to
10:45
attend that as well
10:47
there is also a program agreement which
10:50
we encourage mentors and mentees to sign
10:53
off it's completely between you two so
10:56
we actually don't have anything to do
10:58
with that I move the way for you to
11:00
boast about your your goals and your
11:02
expectations of the program so who are
11:06
the mentors the mentors are actually
11:09
volunteers from our member organizations
11:11
so they've put their hand up to be
11:13
involved in this program as they want to
11:15
offer some guidance and advice to to
11:19
Amenti about you enter the workforce and
11:22
they're also quite interested in them
11:25
shedding some lash on their own
11:27
experiences throughout their career and
11:29
I was talking with someone who was once
11:31
some who is currently in their
11:34
associations that they were once in
11:35
they've been where you are today and
11:37
they want to UM offer some support and
11:39
guidance on that um the type of goals
11:44
that some students and then job seekers
11:47
that come through the program do you
11:48
have and we encourage you to have a
11:50
think about the types of things that you
11:51
would like to achieve through the
11:53
program these are just some examples so
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learning how to work business works so
11:59
you may be interested in being
12:00
introduced to some people within the
12:03
organization understanding how the
12:05
different functions or departments
12:06
within the organization work you may be
12:09
looking at Career Development so gains
12:12
among guidance on the next steps of your
12:16
career journey a lot of participants are
12:19
really interested in soft skill
12:21
development
12:21
so they'll have the communication skills
12:23
or problem-solving or time management
12:26
skills we also have many many students
12:30
and job seekers that come to the
12:32
that are interested in job application
12:34
practice and an interview practice so
12:36
mock interviews is a really common
12:38
activity to work on in the program and
12:42
workplace confidence so that's a one of
12:44
the greatest outcomes we actually see
12:46
from the programs that might be
12:47
something that you're interested in
12:49
developing just honing in on your skills
12:52
and abilities so that you can use them
12:56
when you're applying tool to other roles
13:00
just some ideas of the types of things
13:03
that you might be interested in working
13:04
on with your with your mentor so um I
13:08
mentioned a few of these in earlier
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slide um things like career development
13:14
you may be interested in developing your
13:16
networking skills building your LinkedIn
13:19
profile your mentor may be able to help
13:21
you with that
13:22
I'm putting together a really strong
13:24
cover letter or resume and as you may be
13:27
in the process of currently applying for
13:28
jobs mock interviews is a really popular
13:31
activity so in the past we've actually
13:35
had mentors and mentees link up with
13:37
some other mental mental partners and
13:40
put together mock interviews and panel
13:42
interviews those practice you may want
13:46
to ask them enter about dress code so
13:48
they're acceptable within the office
13:49
environment and we also encourage you to
13:52
put together a plan of action post the
13:55
pace program so what are you going to be
13:56
required to know um after you finish up
13:59
your 12 weeks mentorship do we have any
14:04
questions at this point so far okay
14:10
every tailor to ask any questions at all
14:13
along the way so I briefly mentioned
14:16
early although I'm often time from
14:18
administer the program so if you're
14:20
interested in participating in pace you
14:22
will be expected to attend to the
14:23
45-minute briefing session a young
14:25
mentors workplace then you'll have to
14:28
have $10 six days mentor meetings which
14:32
will go for an hour or so depending on
14:34
what you're working on myself or my
14:37
colleagues will give you a call halfway
14:39
through the program to you to check in
14:40
and see how everything is going that
14:42
probably might take an hour of maybe
14:44
half an hour
14:45
I'm in the networking event at the end
14:47
which will go for an hour or so and
14:50
that's a really beneficial event to
14:52
attend it's designed to be a celebration
14:56
of the achievements that you've made
14:59
through the program as well as a
15:00
networking opportunity to meet other
15:02
mentors and mentees so it's also
15:04
participated in the program so what can
15:08
you expect if you apply for placement in
15:10
room
15:11
um so you can there develop your
15:14
communication skills confidence
15:17
negotiation skills such as setting
15:19
person career goals developing a
15:22
professional network and identifying
15:25
potential next steps in your career path
15:32
so the the matching process the the
15:36
matching process is a fairly manual
15:37
process so we accept on your application
15:40
and then we will look at all of the one
15:42
on two mentors that we have available
15:44
and search for the most suitable matches
15:47
that we can find and we look at things
15:49
like um your goals for the program and
15:52
your area of study or your professional
15:55
interests and then we also look at
15:57
things like hobbies and interests and of
15:59
course your location so you're not
16:01
traveling too far to get to Mitchell's
16:02
workplace so there's a few different
16:05
things that we consider when we when
16:07
matching so what make you all your
16:08
application ism as detailed as possible
16:16
all right now I'll briefly talk about
16:19
thethe stepping into internship program
16:21
so stepping into is a paid placement
16:25
program so we run the program twice a
16:27
year in both the summer and winter
16:29
University breaks and it's all about
16:33
connecting you with a workplace and
16:35
giving you relevant work experience that
16:38
is going to assist you in building your
16:41
professional networks developing your
16:43
skills and enhancing your resume so it
16:47
all began in and in 2005 when I cycle
16:49
more lawyers wanted to engage with
16:51
University students with disability in
16:53
their organization and they realized
16:56
that was struggling to connect with
16:57
students with disabilities because they
16:58
are
16:59
our students and elect me the work
17:01
experience that was was relevant to
17:04
applying to that particular role so
17:07
wrapping would be Australian network on
17:09
disability um we piloted on the the
17:13
stepping into program so we started to
17:17
be very effective in assisting students
17:19
with experience and confidence to apply
17:21
for grad roles and it also assisted
17:24
workplaces to become more familiar and
17:26
confident in implementing website
17:29
justice so in terms of the time frame
17:34
that we are working on we currently have
17:36
applications open for the summer
17:37
internship and so I'll be interviewing
17:40
students over the next two months and
17:43
then in October we would go through a
17:45
short listing process and the places to
17:48
do - commenced in December or January so
17:52
most of the placements are 152 hours
17:54
which works out to be four weeks
17:56
full-time I've been saying that many of
17:59
the organizations that we work with are
18:00
quite open to part-time or flexible work
18:06
hours because something that would
18:08
benefit you in managing your disability
18:10
and managing other commitments that you
18:11
might have that would just be something
18:16
youryour availability would be
18:18
something that you would discuss with me
18:19
are the host organization should you
18:21
make it through to the next stage of
18:22
recruitment so in terms of that
18:25
particular process today who are
18:27
attending the information session so you
18:30
can take that off your list and then you
18:33
can apply online so once you apply
18:36
online if you haven't already done so
18:38
before you'll be invited to a one-on-one
18:40
interview with Australia Network on
18:42
disability and then towards October we
18:44
will let you know if you've been
18:45
shortlist attorney of the positions
18:47
available and then if you are you would
18:52
be invited to a second round of
18:54
interviews with the host organization so
18:57
they would bring this through a second
19:00
interview whether that be face to face
19:02
or by our phone or fax and then they
19:05
would let you know whether you've been
19:06
successful for the answer replacements
19:09
and if you're successful in being
19:11
offered the opportunity
19:13
there may be onboarding requirements
19:14
about particular host employer so many
19:16
government departments for example do
19:18
require police check to be completed and
19:20
then we would also encourage you to
19:23
discuss the implementation of workplace
19:25
adjustments that would benefit you in
19:27
paragraph so I wanted to speak briefly
19:33
about sharing information in the
19:36
workplace and what exactly I'm the
19:38
disability management in the workplace
19:40
can look like so I'm sharing information
19:43
in the workplace can be quite a tricky
19:46
topic and if I'm going to get quite a
19:47
lot of questions about so it's really
19:49
important when you're applying for a job
19:51
toto gauge how confident the
19:53
organization is in supporting people
19:55
with disability within their their
19:57
workplace so you need to take that into
20:00
consideration when deciding whether to
20:02
share disability related information at
20:05
all and when to adjust when to request
20:08
our workplace adjustments that can
20:10
benefit you so all the organizations
20:13
that participate in the stepping into
20:15
your internship program are quote came
20:19
to trial the workplace adjustment own
20:21
policy but not all organizations in the
20:25
workforce I like this so it's definitely
20:27
worth I'm doing some research beforehand
20:29
and see if they have a on a workplace
20:31
adjustment policy and a disability
20:34
inclusion policy all right so the
20:38
disability arm Discrimination Act
20:40
actually prohibits discrimination
20:42
against people with disability through
20:44
our whole stages of the employment
20:46
process so that would be from from
20:49
advertising the role to to the
20:51
recruitment to the training and even
20:52
determinations so many employers accept
20:56
the workplace flexibility is actually an
20:59
attraction retention and retention
21:01
strategy and um the stepping engine
21:03
program is an opportunity for our member
21:05
organizations to trial their workplace
21:08
adjustment so a workplace adjustment can
21:12
be defined as any any process or
21:14
procedure a piece of equipment or
21:17
communication strategy or a work
21:19
environment that enables an employee
21:22
with disability to perform their job in
21:25
a way that
21:26
minimize the CM capture capabilities so
21:29
examples of workplace adjustments that
21:31
can create an inclusive environment
21:33
include things like flexible work hours
21:35
so there might be allowing employees to
21:39
work part-time or shorter days or even
21:42
from home when required another example
21:47
of Oracle adjustment would be providing
21:49
additional mentoring or training or
21:51
supporti've been regular check-ins or
21:54
more training sessions and things like
21:56
that and another example would be
21:59
providing ergonomic office equipment
22:01
that might be a system desk or it might
22:05
be a.m. and are going to make office
22:07
chair so it's really important to know
22:12
that you actually have no obligation to
22:14
share any disability related information
22:16
with a prospective employer so if you do
22:20
apply for a job and you require an
22:23
adjustment at one of the stages with
22:26
improvement for example if you have
22:28
accessibility requirements for the
22:30
interview or require adjustments to an
22:33
online testing process then you may
22:36
choose to request season from a hiring
22:38
manager after your application is being
22:40
accepted or prior forego the interview
22:47
if you're successful in being offered
22:49
the role that believe the workplace
22:51
adjustment could actually benefit you in
22:53
your job then you may request these
22:55