New national training plan wants more jobs for people with a disability
3 December 2004
More skills and more jobs is the focus of a new national plan for people with a disability launched today on International Day of People with a Disability.
Australian Disability Training Advisory Council (ADTAC) co-Chair and manager of IBM Australia/NZ’s Accessibility Centre Mark Bagshaw said more people with a disability were gaining skills through vocational education and training (VET), but this was not resulting in jobs.
“Tremendous progress has been made over the last five years; in fact, there’s been a 71 per cent increase in the number of publicly-funded VET students reporting a disability,” he said.
“However, only 50 per cent of VET graduates with a disability find employment after completing their course, compared to 74 per cent of all VET graduates.”
Mr Bagshaw said it is time to tackle this bottleneck through a revised Blueprint for the national VET system - Bridging Pathways.
The blueprint was revised after a mid-term review checked progress on achieving the goals of Bridging Pathways, the five-year national VET strategy for people with a disability.
The review, led by ADTAC, found that more people with a disability were gaining skills, but this was not translating into meaningful work.
Australian National Training Authority board member and ADTAC co-Chair Leonie Clyne said many Australians with a disability can work, but less than half of them have jobs.
“With skill shortages and an ageing population, employers need to consider that people with a disability as a skill source,” she said.
“Just because a person has a disability, it doesn’t mean they can’t be a productive, reliable worker.
“Statistics show that employing workers with a disability generally results in lower recruitment costs and absenteeism,” Clyne said.
For more information, contact Julie Mackey, ADTAC. Ph: (07) 3246 2417, email: adtac@anta.gov.au. Order printed copies of Bridging Pathways - Revised Blueprint or download pdf or text versions.
ADTAC was created in October 2000 as an advisory committee to the ANTA Board. ADTAC members include representatives from the disability sector, industry, training providers, and Australian, state and territory governments. ADTAC’s mission is to create a shared commitment to improve training and employment opportunities for people with a disability through vocational education and training (VET).
More information: http://acapp015/vetADTAC.asp.
Media contact:
Jennifer Reis
Jacoby Reis Public Relations
T: 07 3315 6655
M: 0413 241 033