CAREER PLANNING - CEAV Career Counselling Australia (PDF)

C E A V C A R E E R C O U N S E L L I N G A U S T R A L I A Case studies for careers practice B A C M BUILDING ABILITY THROUGH CAREER MANAGEMENT B A C M BUILDING ABILITY THROUGH CAREER MANAGEMENT B A C M BUILDING ABILITY THROUGH CAREER MANAGEMENT B A C M BUILDING ABILITY THROUGH CAREER MANAGEMENT CAREER PLANNING for young people with disabilities  © 2019 CEAV Career Counselling Australia CEAV Career Counselling Australia provides this resource for careers professionals working with young people with disabilities to assist them in their career development. It may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the CEAV Career Counselling Australia Board of Directors. Send your inquiries to www.ccca.edu.au Concept design and Editor: Bernadette Gigliotti, CEO The Australian Center for Career Education Author: Dr. Joanne Webber, Disability Inclusion Project Officer: Daniela Salvatore, CEAV Career Counselling Australia ISBN: 978-0-9871433-9-6 Acknowledgments CEAV Career Counselling Australia’s vision is aimed at building the capacity of those most disadvantaged in the community to manage their career development so that they can lead productive and successful lives. Our mission is to provide careers services and programs to increase participation in the workforce and provide relief from poverty. Our programs focus on overcoming the specific barriers to gaining employment, entering training and further education, returning to study. This resource has been developed by CEAV Career Counselling Australia (CCCA) to support the work of career practitioners and disability professionals working with young people with disabilities. The Case Study files were developed following the successful delivery of the Building Ability through Career Management – BACM workshops for parents, professionals and young people with disabilities. CEAV Career Counselling Australia wishes to acknowledge the support of the Victorian government in the development of this resource. We also acknowledge the extensive contribution of Dr Joanne Webber in the formulation of the case studies after engagement with the BACM workshops.  Forward 2 Overview 4 How to use this Case Study Booklet 5 Case Study Mikey 6 Case Study Jessica 8 Case Study Jonah 10 Case Study Leah 12 Case Study Jeff 14 Case Study Beverly 16 Case Study David 18 Case Study Mel 20 Case Study Connor 22 Case Study Bonnie 24 Case Study Mitchell 26 Case Study Maria 28 Case Study Frank 30 Case Study Katie 32 Case Study Davis 34 Case Study Fatima 36 Case Study Zac 38 Case Study Kyle 40 Case Study Lisa 42 Case Study Daniel 44 Case Study Ryan 46 Case Study Billy 48 Case Study Sue 50 Case Study Hayandle 52 Case Study Joel 54 Case Study Ben 56 Case Study Emily 58 Case Study Blake 60 Case Study Nathan 62 CONTENTS  2 Building Ability Through Career Management FORWARD Employment remains a priority for young Victorians, including young people with disability. Like other young Victorians, young people with disability can and want to work. However, people with disability continue to face barriers to employment, remain under- represented in the labour market and experience economic exclusion. The Victorian Government has recognised this situation must change and through Every Opportunity – the Victorian economic participation plan for people with disability 2018-2020, action is being taken in Victoria to drive better employment outcomes for people with disability, including young people with disability. The actions are designed to improve the engagement of people with disability in education and learning pathways; in employment opportunities; and in business and innovation. Government, community and business all have roles to play in improving economic opportunities and outcomes for people with disability. In 2018, the Office for Youth learned about the ground- breaking work being undertaken by CEAV Career Counselling Australia to support young with disability to access employment, which aligned with the actions in Every opportunity to prepare and support transitions for young people with disability. Along with colleagues in the Office for Disability and the Disability and NDIS Branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office for Youth partnered with CEAV Career Counselling Australia to support its Building Ability through Career Management Program. Through the program CEAV Career Counselling Australia delivered targeted workshops to young people with disabilities, parents/caregivers of young people with disabilities and professionals who deliver career counselling to young people with disabilities. CEAV Career Counselling Australia provided individualised career planning to young with disability and developed valuable resources for parents and families, disability professionals, employment consultants and employers to support young people with disability to achieve their career aspirations beyond school. The Career Planning for young people with disabilities case studies provide rich information and guidance to young people, parents, teachers, disability employment consultants and employers about how to support the different needs of young people with disability to gain employment based on their unique skills, circumstances, interests and goals for the future.  3 Office for Youth applauds the impressive young people featured in this resource for sharing their aspirations and journeys with us and wishes them every success in the future. We acknowledge the efforts of dedicated family members who have been actively involved in assisting young people with disability to explore and pursue diverse and innovative work options. Finally, we recognise the employment consultants and employers who opened doors and provided employment opportunities to young people with disability, understanding the benefits of diverse and inclusive workplaces for business, the young people themselves and the broader community. The resources developed by CEAV Career Counselling Australia will play an important role in supporting young people with disability to prepare for employment and in creating more inclusive workplaces for young people with disability. Office for Youth Department of Premier and Cabinet  4 Building Ability Through Career Management CASE STUDY OVERVIEW A series of case studies have been developed to demonstrate the experiences of young people with disability and a range of strategies to support these individuals in their personal career planning and management. Most of these cases have been inspired by participants associated with the CEAV Career Counselling Australia (CCCA), Building Ability through Career Management (BACM) program. Other cases have been included based on de-identified experiences of people outside this project in order to illustrate a broader diversity of individuals from a range of cultural groups, disability types and geographic locations. The case studies have been designed based on lived experiences of disability, the personal career exploration journey, education, work history and goals of various people with disability. These case studies offer a range of perceptions of factors relevant to the career exploration journey for people with a disability; including education pathways, job trials, access to disability services and support networks. The cases represent a diversity of individuals through culture, disability type, career goals, career journey, location, socio-economic status and gender. A person-first, strengths-based approach has been used in the case studies to highlight each person with a disability as an individual with unique skills, interests, values and goals. In accordance with ethical considerations, some case studies have been deidentified to protect the privacy of participants. A number of participants have provided verbal and written consent for their stories and photos to be shared in this case study booklet. For these participants, their names, schools, workplaces and other identifiable information has been included. For all other case studies, anonymity has been respected, with pseudonyms used for individuals reflected in the case studies. Information such as geographic location, education providers and workplaces have been changed to further protect the anonymity of those in the case studies. Some cases represent the combined experiences of a number of participants to further de-identify those represented in the case studies.  5 Building Ability Through Career Management HOW TO USE THIS CASE STUDY BOOKLET Individual cases can be read and shared to illustrate the range of career journeys undertaken by people with a disability. Cases can also be used for training purposes with discussion questions asked at the end of each case study. The discussion questions have been designed to prompt professionals to identify the key career development goals and the various interventions that can be applied to each situation. Note that because career development is not a single linear journey, a range of other solutions or interventions can also be applied to each case. It is therefore useful to acknowledge a range of alternative options and different career paths that are shared when discussing the cases. EXAMPLES OF USE Classroom discussion with students: raising awareness of the aspirations of young people with disabilities to enter the workforce and pursue their career goals Professional development: use in the training and up-skilling of career practitioners to build their knowledge of working with young people with disabilities Disability employment staff professional learning: sharing cases to build capacity in case and practice management techniques Teaching tool: working with community agencies to build knowledge in career planning for young people with disabilities. Reference: The case studies in this resource refer to the CCCA use of our preferred vocational assessment tool, the Employment Readiness Scale Model TM. Employment readiness is defined as being able, with little or no outside help, to find, acquire and keep an appropriate job as well as to be able to manage transitions to new jobs as needed. The Employment Readiness Scale was utilised during the Building Ability Through Career Management (BACM) workshops to support the career planning of young people with disabilities. More information on the Employment Readiness Scale can be found at www.employmentreadiness.info All inquires about how the ERS was used in this project should be made to CEAV Career Counselling Australia (03) 9433 8000  Work is important to me because I like to help others and feel useful. Mikey is a bright and engaging young man with Williams Syndrome. He experiences mild difficulties with some aspects of learning. He is currently enrolled in a post school program for young people with a disability and is particularly enjoying the woodwork component of this course. He is confident when disclosing his disability as he realises that this helps people understand the type of support he needs at work. Mikey described himself as someone who loves talking to people and one of his values is that he always wants to be helpful. Mikey undertook a 2-day Building Ability through Career Management workshop and identified that he was keen to find work. Mikey CASE STUDY: “ 6 “  7 Discussion questions • What are Mikey’s interests, values and goals? • How has the ERS been used as part of Mikey’s career planning journey? • What are his employability strengths? • What actions are required to support Mikey’s next steps to find employment? • What skills can Mikey identify that he has developed? The Employment Readiness Scale (ERS) was used to help identify any areas that Mikey needs to focus on to support this search for employment. The ERS is designed to assess for work ready skills including career decision-making, job search skills and a range of soft skills such as self-efficacy and the skills to maintain a job. At the time that Mikey completed the ERS, he was identified as work ready which means that he can commence looking for work with the confidence that he is employable. Mikey has been exploring his career path and has identified that he is extremely interested in working in a large hardware retail store. Mikey referred to this type of employment as his ‘preferred’ choice, as it would allow him to help other and share his knowledge about woodwork. He is also doing work experience at a large supermarket and enjoying being in a retail environment. He is well supported by his family who have encouraged him to look for work in a field that interests him. He has a pleasant manner and enjoys helping people. This, combined with his interest in wood work will go a long way to helping him present as a good applicant for a job at a large hardware and timber retail business. His next step is to identify a Disability Employment Service that will help him find work with his preferred employer.  “ Jessica is a 22 year old university student in her third year of engineering. She scored in the top 10% of her catholic girls’ school and gained an equity scholarship at her university. She has a vision impairment and uses a range of magnification technology to undertake her studies. She is a hard-working student who is maintaining distinction grades and is hoping to enter a graduate program upon completion of her course. “ I know my hard work will pay off, even if it takes longer to find work, I will eventually find the right job. Jessica CASE STUDY: 8  9 Discussion questions • What are Jessica’s aspirations? • What skills can she offer an employer? • Who are Jessica’s supporters? • What opportunities were beneficial to Jessica and why? • What other solutions could have been applied to this situation? Jessica knows that the graduate programs are very competitive and is working hard to maintain her grades but is concerned that her lack of industry experience will limit her chance to be offered a position. Jessica meets with her course coordinator and university careers advisor to gain further advice on improving her chances to secure a graduate program. She is then connected with a diversity officer in a large company and is offered a four-week placement with a mentor. In this placement she works in a team and is assigned a role in a team project where her colleagues appreciate her contribution. Her employer is so impressed with her capacity and skills and at the end of the placement offer her a12 month graduate program upon completion of her course. Jessica is confident disclosing her disability and this ensures that she is able to receive reasonable adjustments in her workplace.  Jonah is 20 years old and completed a VCAL program at a specialist school for children who are deaf. He has been profoundly deaf since birth and proudly acknowledges that sign language is his first language. Both of his parents are deaf and he mixes well with the Deaf community. After completing school, he commenced a Certificate II in IT and then transitioned through into a Diploma in IT at the same inner-city TAFE. He chose this course based on a recommendation from his school’s career practitioner but is not sure of his job outcomes. At TAFE Jonah met with his course coordinator and career counsellor to identify a range of suitable jobs that he can apply for upon graduation. He researched all the opportunities available to him and his course coordinator Jonah “ Deafness is no barrier to gaining work. CASE STUDY: 10 “  11 Discussion questions • What are Jonah’s skills, interests, values and goals? • What are his strengths and who are his contacts to help gain employment? • What interventions did his TAFE offer to support his career decision making? • What would be the next steps for Jonah in his career planning? suggested he make an appointment with a professional careers practitioner. Jonah attended his first careers session and the career practitioner asked him to make a list of the top five jobs that are of greatest interest to him. When making the list Jonah eliminated 10% of the jobs that involve providing telephone assistance as he recognised that these jobs will not be accessible to him due to his hearing impairment. He is very pleased with his final list of possible jobs but still wants to explore these in more detail before graduation. The final semester of his course includes one industry placement. A follow up meeting with his career practitioner helps Jonah refine his list down to three jobs where there is significant industry growth and career progression opportunities. Instead of undertaking one industry placement, Jonah’s course coordinator and placement coordinator arrange for three industry immersion opportunities throughout the semester. Jonah thoroughly enjoys all three industry placements and reports to his career counsellor that he would be happy working for any of these employers. Although he was provided with sign language interpreters for all three placements for staff meetings and group training activities, he particularly appreciated one workplace where his supervisor had a son who is deaf and the supervisor was able to communicate using sign language. This was particularly beneficial in having questions about the role directly answered from his supervisor and for Jonah to demonstrate his interest and skills in the workplace. He has ongoing email contact with this supervisor who has encouraged Jonah to make contact again upon graduation in order to determine if there are any job opportunities at this time. Jonah is now far more confident about his job prospects and has a clear direction for his career path.  “ “ I love working with wood and making things. Leah is a bright young woman with an enthusiasm for life. She has Asperger’s Syndrome and has developed a range of strategies to support her social inclusion. After completing school, she enrolled in a post school program for young people with a disability and is embracing the opportunity to explore a wide range of careers including cooking and carpentry. She describes her strength as being a creative person who likes helping people which gives her a great deal of personal satisfaction. Leah CASE STUDY: 12  13 Discussion questions • What are Leah’s skills, interests, values and goals? • What techniques were used to help Leah identify her career and training pathways? • How did Leah manage to express her interest in working with animals? • What other career guidance techniques could have been applied to Leah’s situation? Leah undertook the Employment Readiness Scale to help identify any areas that she needs to focus on to support her job seeking. The ERS is designed to assess for work ready skills including career decision-making, job search skills and a range of soft skills such as self-efficacy and the skills to maintain a job. When Leah completed the ERS, she was identified as work ready and the tool identified that her self efficacy was strong and she was highly motivated to commence the job search process. Leah undertook a 2-day Building Ability through Career Management workshop and articulated a wide range of interest areas including working with animals, carpentry and cooking. After exploring her interest areas in more detail, she was able to identify her preference for working with wood and also expressed a value for animal care. She then discussed her career goals in related industries and prioritised working with wood as her top career goal. This was also reflected in her ERS results which indicated that Leah was strong in career decision making. When exploring this career path in more detail, she identified a desire to undertake a pre- apprenticeship Certificate II in furniture making. Leah still has an interest in animals but has decided to express this through volunteer work in an animal shelter.