SSI seeks to overcome barriers with Disability Confident Recruiter status

Mikaella Latimore from Life Without Barriers, Cherie Jones from SSI, Scott Barton from QBE and Lin Surch from AND.

On March 28, SSI’s Talent Acquisition Manager, Cherie Jones, joined a panel of recruitment professionals at a round table discussion hosted by the Australian Network on Disability (AND).

The panel, facilitated by AND Relationship Manager, Lin Surch, was focused on overcoming barriers in recruitment of people with a disability. Each organisation present was at different stages of this journey, and were keen to share interesting insights on their experiences in updating their organisation’s processes, thereby making the experience as accessible as possible for those with a disability.

“SSI first achieved its status as a Disability Confident Recruiter in 2018, and we are proud to share that they have successfully renewed this for the 2019 calendar year. This achievement is a clear demonstration of SSI’s active and ongoing commitment to inclusion of people with disability,” said Lin Surch.

Achieving Disability Confident Recruiter status involved SSI staff reviewing the organisation’s recruitment procedures to remove inadvertent barriers, which would otherwise make recruitment processes less accessible for people with disability. This includes:

• Ensuring SSI’s website meets the global standard for accessibility
• Asking whether a job applicant needs any adjustment to fully participate in the process, in our job ads and for interviews
• And ensuring new and existing employees can also request adjustments

“SSI works comprehensively in the disability sector, not only providing opportunities to work within SSI, but also in assisting those with a disability to achieve self-employment through our public IgniteAbility program,” noted SSI’s Talent Acquisition Manager, Cherie Jones

“We actively seek to encourage people of all backgrounds, experiences and abilities to work with us, and we believe having a diverse workforce which reflects the people we work with, and an inclusive environment where everyone is welcomed and valued, helps us achieve better outcomes for all,” said Cherie.

For more information on current inclusive employment opportunities at SSI, and information on our IgniteAbility Small Business Start-ups for people with a disability, follow the links on the SSI website.