Recruitment agency Randstad has partnered with Get Skilled Access, founded by disability advocate Dylan Alcott, to launch RecruitAble, said to be a ground-breaking recruitment program for people with disability.
Supported by $2.43 million in funding from the Federal Government, the national pilot and new website will allow the estimated 2.1 million people with disability of working age, gain more employment opportunities.
RecruitAble is the first initiative under the Federal Government’s Disability Employment Strategy, a commitment across all levels of government to create a more inclusive society where people with disability can reach their full potential. Developed by people with disability, RecruitAble will identify key areas to increase accessible practices in the hiring process to create more inclusive workplaces.
Organisations including Coles, Tennis Australia, Bendigo Bank, Hydro Tasmania, RACQ and Randstad are amongst the first employers to participate in the pilot, which is scheduled to run for two years.
Coles will focus the first stage of the pilot on its technology function within its store support centre, dedicating up to eight roles this year to new hires for candidates with disability. Technology recruiters, general managers and hiring managers within Coles will undergo targeted disability confidence training designed by Get Skilled Access (GSA) to ensure the success of the program.
Coles Group CEO Steven Cain said the pilot is one of the many ways Coles plans to be a champion for accessibility and disability inclusion. “We encourage and support the employment of people with disability and are committed to building a team that’s representative of the local communities we are part of,” he said. “More than three per cent of our workforce identify as having disability and we want to ensure that our management team take our learnings from this pilot to help our disability hiring acumen across Coles Group more broadly, and ultimately increase the number of people with a disability we hire.”
Businesses signing up to the program must commit to training their staff to ensure a supportive environment and meet an initial quota for hiring people with disability. Some businesses will also release new job opportunities to RecruitAble ahead of going to their current preferred supplier panel.
According to Alcott a more inclusive model of recruitment is long overdue. “RecruitAble will offer all Australians an equal opportunity to go after the job of their choice, fulfil their potential and live the life they deserve,” he said.
Minister for Social Services, Anne Ruston, said the majority of employers indicate an openness to hiring people with disability, but only around one third show behavioural commitment to doing so. “The pilot will highlight the benefits of a highly talented but regularly overlooked workforce,” the minister said. “It aims to provide organisations with insights into the accessibility of the current recruitment process and identify key areas for improving the hiring process.”
Results of the pilot program will be evaluated by La Trobe University and the findings will help inform future reforms and initiatives under the Disability Employment Strategy.
It is hoped that a successful pilot will lead to a wider rollout of the program and a significant shift in employment outcomes for Australians with disability.
Caption: Coles CEO, Steven Cain, Dylan Alcott, Stephanie Agnew (GSA), Senator Anne Ruston and MP Dr Katie Allen.