Employers are granted insights on how to make workplaces inclusive for them
A new national programme has been piloted in Australia to help make recruitment more inclusive towards people living with disability.
The programme, called RecruitAble, was launched by the world's largest recruiter Randstadt in partnership with the Get Skilled Access, founded by former wheelchair tennis player Dylan Alcott. It is supported by funding from the Federal Government and is launched as an initiative under its Disability Employment Strategy.
In a media release, RecruitAble is dubbed as a "ground-breaking mainstream recruitment programme" designed to further the inclusion and accessibility of mainstream recruitment processes by "enhancing capacity and capability to employ more candidates with disability."
"People with disability have unlimited potential which is why we're committed to transforming the mainstream recruitment process and reshaping perceptions towards people with disability. A more inclusive model of recruitment is long overdue," said Alcott in a statement.
"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 added.
Read more: Victoria invests $2.1 million to boost job opportunities for people with disability
How can this benefit employers?
With the launching of the pilot programme, set to run for two years, Australian employers could tap on the talent pool from people living with disability as part of their workforce.
According to Families and Social Services Minister Anne Ruston, businesses often fail to recognise the talent and skills that can be found in this sector, but RecruitAble will highlight the benefits of having a highly talented workforce.
"It aims to provide organisations with insights into the accessibility of the current recruitment process and identify the key areas for improving the hiring process," she said.
The recommendations from the programme will also guide employers on further understanding their current systems, processes, and behaviours so they can create a more inclusive environment for candidates with disability.
The pilot launch of the programme saw the participation of Coles, Tennis Australia, Bendigo Bank, Hydro Tasmania, RACQ, and Randstad.
These businesses, as well as those that are signing up for the programme, will be asked to commit on training their staff to ensure a supportive environment for people will disability.
"We are proud to be extending this focus on diversity with the Recruitable programme and carving out a new approach to the recruitment process, which keeps people with disability at its heart, brings enormous benefits to Australian businesses and organisations, and delivers greatly needed progress," said Randstad GM for diversity and inclusion Madeline Hill in a statement.
Randstad said it is hoping for the success of the programme so it will be rolled out further. Its success will be based on the evaluation of the La Trobe University on the pilot's results.
The findings will also help future reforms under the Disability Employment Strategy, an associated plan of Australia's Disability Strategy 2021-2031, according to the report.
