Breaking down the stigma faced by people with disabilities is a passion for disability champion Hayden Walsh.
Hayden has cerebral palsy but it doesn’t prevent him from making a contribution in the workplace and giving back to his community.
He is advocating for fairness in the workplace and increasing opportunity but says people with disabilities still face a stigma of being ‘hard to train’ in securing long-term employment.
“A really big barrier for people with disabilities is that we often only get short-term contracts and often after a trial period employers won’t keep people on,” he said.
“In the past I have got the impression from managers that they felt it was ‘too hard’ and I was stuck doing the same thing every day when I wanted to learn other tasks.
“Companies should be more disability aware. I think people should open their eyes, open their doors and be welcoming. Just give someone with a disability a go and see that we’re like anyone else.
“We have families, we have goals, we’re good workers and we stay in employment for a long time if we’re given the chance.”
Hayden currently enjoys work as a casual employee at Woolworths in Kyneton where he feels valued as part of the team. He is now seeking additional work to further support his young family and desire to become a homeowner.
“I like to go out and earn a day’s work, feel valued in the community and pay my taxes like everyone else.”
“I want to be a role model for people with cerebral palsy and other people with disabilities and show them that anything is possible,” he said.
Community-minded, Hayden is senior time-keeper at Kyneton Football Netball Club, helps out at training and had a seat on the committee in 2018 and 2019.
CVGT Bendigo manager Jennifer Richards has been assisting Hayden in the workforce for the past two years and is on track to helping him secure his next job, but she acknowledges there are still some barriers.
“If it’s a physical disability, employers often think it’s too hard to modify workplaces to suit their needs, which is far from the truth,” she said.
“There are programs like Job Access that will come out and make modifications that are paid for by the government, so it’s not actually a financial burden for the business. There are also wage subsidies available.”
Ms Richards said CVGT continued to provide support once people found work, including additional training, transport, equipment, arranging workplace assessments to remove physical barriers and making sure they felt comfortable.
“There are lots of things available, it’s just a matter of tapping into them and if you do it through a disability employment service, then it’s much easier,” she said.
Ms Richards said there were many people eligible for workplace support including those with workplace injuries, anxiety, depression, cancer survivors and transplant recipients.
She encouraged employers to look past the disability and consider the applicant’s strengths like they would with any job seeker.
“People with disabilities are often still very active and smart people, but some of those physical disabilities can lead to assumptions that the person may not be able to physically perform the work. It’s really about creating an understanding and being open and honest,” she said.
“A lot of people with disabilities really want to work: so they are going to show up, they’re going to be reliable, they’re going to give 110 per cent and they’re going to be happy to be there.”
