KEY POINTS:
MY JOB
Name: Arron Perriam
Age: 38
Role: National programme manager of Kaleidoscope Programme; Vocational Rehabilitation with the Serious Spinal Cord Impaired.
Website: www.kaleidoscope.org.nz
Working hours: 40 hours plus per week
Average salary: $55,000-$70,000
Qualifications: Career Practitioners Association of New Zealand, professional member.
What is Kaleidoscope?
Kaleidoscope is a NZ Spinal Trust programme set up five years ago to help people with serious spinal cord impairment, such as paraplegia or tetraplegia, into work.
Describe what you do.
I manage the Kaleidoscope vocational consultants team who work throughout New Zealand. Using an early intervention vocational rehabilitation model, we meet people within the first weeks of their admission into spinal rehabilitation units to explore what is real for them, including their life roles and what they want to pursue vocationally. Part of this may involve organising employer meetings to identify barriers and find solutions.
Clients have reported that thinking of work and normal life brings hope during their rehabilitation. Some tell us that when they are newly injured they still expect to go back to work at some stage. However, over the ensuing weeks, their world begins to be radically redefined by their injury and you could say the world of "disability" is learned.
An example of returning to work?
At the time of his injury, 19-year-old John* had started working in an engineering workshop. John was flat on his back with his neck and head in traction for the first 10 weeks that Kaleidoscope worked with him. Over the five months John was in the spinal unit, we contacted his employer, completed a workplace assessment and worked with ACC to facilitate his eventual return to work. He has been back now three years and loves it.
* Not real name.
What common issues affect returning to work?
First, it depends on the client's neurological level of spinal injury and functional capacity as to whether their previous job is possible after discharge from the spinal unit. Generally, issues affecting a return to work include having the right technology and environmental setting to do a job, workplace mobility and accessibility, transportation, availability of timely personal carer support so you can get to work on time, fatigue management, and issues surrounding modifications to housing and/or the workplace.
How did you get into this line of work?
I certainly never set out to work in this or any job in the rehabilitation, disability and health sectors. So it was really a measure of good luck.
In 2003, I had a chance meeting with Professor Alan Clarke and Andrew Hall at the Burwood Spinal Unit. Professor Clarke had the vision for a Kaleidoscope-type programme when he became a paraplegic after a fall.
He got Andrew Hall, who had experienced returning to work as a tetraplegic, to develop the Kaleidoscope concept. Andrew employed me as operations manager, which involved assisting with consultancy on the ward and developing operations and processes. Andrew has since become NZ Spinal Trust chief executive and I am Kaleidoscope national programme manager.
When I started with Kaleidoscope, I was on the wards 80 per cent of the time. Now I'm mainly management but still see a couple of clients to keep me honest.
Your history?
I worked for the Salvation Army for 11 years undertaking various youth community and social development initiatives, before becoming team leader for their Employment Plus programme which delivers employment training and facilitates job placement.
Prior to the Sallies, I was a full-time musician for about five years - the perfect career preparation for this line of work, right?
What skills are important?
Our team has different and complementary professional skills but everyone needs a real regard and love for their clients and a passion to promote hope and independence through a future return to work.
Contract management, relationship and resource management, business development, report writing, marketing and leadership are important. You also need a broad range of industry networks.
While I had no formal training, I engage in ongoing professional development with the NZ Institute of Management and the Careers Practitioner Association of New Zealand.
How would you define success in your job?
I can't think of any work I'd rather be doing that could provide this sort of satisfaction. It is a success every time a client chooses to live beyond the chair and take on independence living, which for many has meant returning to work. Kaleidoscope isn't actually about people with a serious spinal impairment returning to work. It is about choices for independent living and choosing to live the life you love.
Advice to someone wanting to do same thing?
I'm not convinced there is a specific learning or career path leading directly into this type of rehabilitation work. If you're interested, you should choose to do something right now to create the possibility. We employ people from many backgrounds, including a laboratory technician, occupational therapist and computer programmer. You can also do a qualification in career practice or health rehabilitation.
