Disability Resources for Parents and Carers
Resources Overview
These resources have been developed to support parents and carers to explore careers and the world of work with young people with disability. The pack can be used to support parent information sessions or it can be used directly by parents. It contains:
- PowerPoint Presentation: A training resource that takes participants through a 2-hour session on the role parents can play in supporting career decision-making, understanding the labor market and the range of disability supports and incentives available in Australia to job seekers and employees with disability.
- Fast Facts: A series of ‘fast facts’ resources on preparing young people with disability for employment.
- Useful Websites: A quick reference to the most useful websites for job-seekers with a disability.
Why parents and carers are important
Research shows that parents have the single greatest influence on their child’s education and career decision making. Parents can provide opportunities to their children to explore the world of work as they grow, develop, and prepare for their career.
The resources guide parents and carers in how they can engage in a career conservation with their children to assist them to identify their interests, understand further education opportunities, develop skills, achieve work goals, identify work opportunities or job trials, and navigate a range of disability incentives to support job searching and employment opportunities.
Key Features of the Pack
The Parent and Carer Resource pack covers a range of topics related to the career development journey for young people with disability including:
- The meaning of career, work, employability and work-ready.
- Documenting each child’s skills, interests, goals and values.
- When and how to disclose a disability.
- Stories of hope.
- Labor market changes and opportunities.
- Disability employment services and incentives.
Parents and careers are career development allies. They play a critical role in fostering an understanding of, and supporting the development of, the four core elements of career decision making:
- Interests - what young people like or enjoy doing
- Skills - what young people can do or learn to do
- Values - what is important to them
- Goals - what they want to achieve
This pack supports parents and careers to help young people develop their career understanding and career decision making across five key steps in the resources:
- Identify your young person’s interests, skills, values and goals.
- Explore further education or training opportunities with them.
- Encourage registration with a local employment service / Disability Employment Service and make sure this service is aware of your young person’s skills, interests, values and goals along with their disability-specific requirements.
- Identify any networks you have that may know of volunteer, job trial or paid work opportunities and let these contacts know that your young person is looking for work.
- Identify any government incentives that your young person is eligible for that may help them gain employment.
Understanding Employers
Watch the Business Council of Australia Being Work Ready Video to find out what employers want.
Useful Websites
Click on the document to download a list of links to organisations, resources and videos to support jobseekers with disability.
Career Planning Case Stories
Career Planning for Young People with Disabilities is a collection of case studies about the experiences of young people with disability. It includes a range of strategies used to support them in their personal career planning and career management and has been inspired by participants in the CCCA Building Ability through Career Management program.
Download a copy
