Rotorua service aiming for more inclusive community through disability employment

Employment and transition team leader Elsie Westman at Work Together Rotorua. Photo / Shauni James

Work Together Rotorua is encouraging businesses to come forward and learn more about employing people with disabilities, in turn helping to make Rotorua a more inclusive community.

Work Together Rotorua works with jobseekers who experience barriers to employment and connects them with organisations and employers that want to hire great talent.

The organisation then supports the process for both the employee and employer to get employment outcomes which provide the numerous benefits of paid employment for a person as well as great business benefits for the employer.

Nicky Mayne, general manager of St Chads and Work Together Rotorua, says there are many benefits for businesses when employing people with disabilities.

She says these include the likelihood of reducing a business' organisational Health and Safety risks, increasing workplace diversity and helping develop an inclusive and empathetic workplace culture, and getting loyal, reliable and hardworking employees.

"There is such a massive, untapped workforce of people with disabilities.

"So, we are wanting to engage with businesses to talk about how the disability workforce can benefit them and help them to be disability confident."

Nicky says when it comes to hiring people with disabilities employers can often think, "I don't want to do the wrong thing", and so do not do anything at all.

She says Work Together Rotorua offers a free recruitment service and can help along the way for both the employee and employer to get great employment outcomes.

"If anyone wants to have a chat about the benefits with no obligations we can do that.

"If we can be a more inclusive community Rotorua will be better for it as well."

She says employment and jobs have many benefits for everyone, including people with disabilities.

Nicky says these include giving us a feeling of value in society and making relationships and meeting others you would not meet otherwise.

She says she is also happy to go into organisations and help their teams be better at engaging with people with disabilities so that they both feel confident enough to employ someone with a disability or engage better with a customer who has disabilities.

"We want to help the community be more inclusive and disability confident."

Work Together Rotorua has been running since April 1.

To get in touch with Work Together Rotorua call Elsie Westman on (027) 238 3540 or to contact Nicky Mayne call (07) 347 8515.