Sex and the City - in a wheelchair

Have you seen the recent episodes of ‘Push Girls’ on TV?

Four very talented, glamorous, intelligent and attractive Los Angeles women, who through injury, find themselves in wheelchairs. They deal with issues relating to their career, happiness, individuality, sport, men, flirting, sex, shoes and fashion. They are a professional model, dancer, designer and athlete. The show’s creator is a former model and actress Angela Rockwood, who was left a quadriplegic after a car accident in 2001. Her roommate Tiphany Adams – the only survivor in a high school car accident, hip hop dancer Auti Angel who dated rapper LL Cool J in the early 90’s shortly before a car accident that changed her life forever, and former competitive swimmer Mia Schaikewitz, who was instantly paralyzed due to a blood vessel rupture in her spinal cord.

It’s great to see these women living life to the fullest albeit with more challenges than most. They have had to overcome, accept and assume their fate for better or worse.  It is wonderful that these woman have been able to make this series to show us there are no limits to creativity, learning, studying and making a career in television and film.  

Well done girls, we at EmployMe applaud you. 

It is also great to see TV producers start to tackle real and serious issues - employment opportunities for the disabled.

We, at EmployMe, want to create as many opportunities as possible for the disabled looking for work. We want to give everyone an opportunity to create a life they want to lead - whether it is a professional career or an interest they would like to pursue. Show us your support on such issues by:

• Telling us your experiences in our blog below.
• Contacting us at www.EmployMe.com any time.
• Saying hello and liking us on our facebook pages: Employ Me and PWD, People with Disability Australia Inc.         
• https://www.facebook.com/for.employme?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Employme/170725676462914

Please sign our petition at www.change.org\employme.for.my.ability

Out with it BHPBilliton

BHPBilliton why don’t you have a HR policy that promotes employment opportunities for the disabled?

Do you have one?

If you promote diversity in the workplace, why don't you promote and publish your employment opportunities on your website so the whole world can see…

Learn from NAB – they are a shining example of employment opportunities for disabled persons in the workplace. 

Check out this video BHPBilliton… it’s time for you to extract your fair work and diversity policy and publish it too.  Check out NAB's accessibility for people with disability video as well. It's excellent.
http://www.nab.com.au/about-us/careers/working-at-nab/diversity-and-inclusion

Let us know if your employer and workplace are a shining example like NAB. 

Do they offer employment opportunities for the disabled?

Tell us in our blog below or our facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Employme/170725676462914

Thanks a million from EmployMe.

Tech breakthroughs for the disabled

Check out the latest tech breakthroughs for the disabled here:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/10/22/tech-breakthroughs-disabled/3151537/

Let us know your favourite tech gadgets on our facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Employme/170725676462914

Thanks a million from us at EmployMe.

UN: Aust failing to meet its obligations to people with disabilities

The United Nations has found Australia is failing to meet its obligations to people with disabilities.  Read and listen here:

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3863967.htm

Let us know what you think about this on our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Employme/170725676462914

What an inspiration

"Obviously, because of my disability, I need assistance. But I have always tried to overcome the limitations of my condition and lead as full a life as possible. I have travelled the world, from the Antarctic to zero gravity." Stephen Hawking

Do you have the very best employees running your business?

EmployMe.com can introduce you to many.

EmployMe is delighted to present stablehand Stephen Payne as a nominee for Racing Victoria’s Employee of the Year Awards at Moonee Valley last Saturday night.

Stephen has worked in the stable of thoroughbred racing identity Darren Weir for seven years now. As a stable-hand, Stephen straps and saddles horses at the races and stables, grooms, cleans stalls and distributes feed to the stable. His manager says “the horses love him and respect him. It’s fantastic to watch him and the horse work together. I would employ many more Stephen’s. He’s up here at 4am every workday morning. His work rate is astonishing. And so is his horse-riding!”

If you know of any other amazing employees like Stephen, then please let us know in our blog below. 

You can share your story with others at our Facebook community: EmployMe and PWD, People with Disability Australia Inc.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Employme/516439028446500?ref=hl

Please feel free to contact us at www.EmployMe.com

How diversified is your HR policy?

How Resourceful           are you?

How Responsible          are you?

How Resilient               are you?

How Reasonable          are you?

How Responsive           are you?

What does your HR policy look like? 

Would you employ Tom?

Tom is studying law at Melbourne Uni and really excited to be finishing his studies and graduating next year. 

“I can’t believe how quickly my studies have progressed. It hasn't been without a whole lot of challenges, though, but that’s what makes me who I am. I should be graduating with first class honors and really looking forward to starting work next year. Fortunately, I have been talking with EmployMe over the last 3 months. They have been excellent in helping me prepare my resume and provided me with great advice and interview practice as well.

Last week I attended some interviews for graduate employment. EmployMe highly recommended this employer to me so I didn't hesitate to have an interview with them. I was impressed with this particular Legal Firm. The accessibility to the office and facilities in the office was able to accommodate me perfectly. Their policies actually promote diversity in the workplace including employing those with disabilities like me. My interviews went well and I hope to hear back from them soon.”

EmployMe has assisted several businesses set up and re-vise their HR employment policies, marketing and recruitment practices to employ persons with disabilities like Tom. EmployMe performed audits on businesses to make sure they are able to accommodate disabled employees like Tom.

We, at EmployMe can assist business owners and private enterprise with:

• cost benefit analyses for employing those with disabilities 
• workplace assessments and audits to accommodate those with disability, and 
• assist with your application for Government grants – just to name a few services. 

If you would like to hear or find out more about EmployMe’s Business Services, then please contact us at www.employme.com.

Or say hello and like us on our Facebook pages: Employ Me and PWD, People with Disability Australia Inc.https://www.facebook.com/pages/Employme/516439028446500?ref=hl

We also have a petition we’d like you to sign at  www.change.org\employme.for.my.ability.

Good News on Bad Debts

Are you a self-storage facility owner?  

Startup Company Employme has the perfect solution for you! How many times have you been left high and dry with the following list of expenses from abandoned storage units?

• Removal fees
• Cleaning fees
• Tip fees
• Legal fees

And what about the good money lost from
• Bad debit writ off
• Rental monies forgone from not being able to rent the unit to a paying customer




What’s the whole point of throwing good money away after bad? EmployMe offers a free collection of unwanted / abandoned goods service so you no longer have to pay for the disposal and these expenses.

You can also sleep well at night knowing that you have provided employment to the disadvantaged members of our community where they can learn new skills in furniture restoration and possibly be found jobs that they are competent in. Employme seek to find their members all kinds of jobs, like for example packaging, sorting and collecting.

EmployMe offers many services for disabled members of our community either directly employing them in furniture restoration – thereby restoring not only unwanted furniture but more importantly,
restoring there sense of self, their purpose in life – to be productive … giving them an opportunity to be self-sufficient and integrated back into society.

Our passion is to help find work for members of our community who are less fortunate, struggling with disabilities – they shouldn’t have to struggle to find work too!

The next time you have an abandoned storage unit at your facility, call us and we will be only too happy to assist you!

Please blog below and share your thoughts – we’d love to find out how we can help you to help others too! Like us on Facebook: EmployMe..
Visit our Website www.employme.com.au and see how you can get more involved.

Why do we treat people with disabilities like second class citizens?

Yes, you do!

A recent report by Price Waterhouse Coopers shows that 45% of persons with a disability are living either near or below the poverty line in Australia. This represents just under 2 million people, then it follows that the highest proportion of the poor in Australia are people with disability.

Unfortunately Australia ranks 21st out of 29 OECD countries in employment participation rates for those living with a disability. Imagine the uproar in the community if Australia was last in the medal count at the Olympics. Governments would be shamed into redressing such a poor result by putting in funding for programs to change this very quickly

On 14 October, 2013, the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Tony Abbott, said:

"The National Disability Insurance Scheme has been one very good thing to come out of the previous parliament. We have a very, very long way to go to implement the scheme".

Oh really?! How did you deduce that from the above statistics?! Well deduced!!!

I suppose it took so much mental energy to figure that out that you’ll now need to go have a lie down and won’t get back to it til 2020!!

Well those with disabilities don’t have time to wait, while you’re having a lie down on your feathered bed, they’re queueing up to work, only to find the shop shut………why is the shop shut…, cause the boss has had to go have a lie down, as all the work got too much for him…………..gee couldn’t he have done with some quality help, workers and assistants!!!!!

Yes, we do have a very, very long way to go……

We, at EmployMe, strongly believe we need to develop our domestic law in Australia to support persons living with disability. We want to see changes in our workplaces

 NOW!

Wake up and get these people working. As Sam Kekovich would say, “You know it makes sense!!!”

We want to see that at least 5% of a company's workforce is made up of persons with disabilities. We have to improve our ranking of 21st out of 29! And you can help us.

Help us build our campaign to make a difference for disabled people in Australia. Let’s demand that Tony Abbot leads us on this issue. If you’d like to help, then please:

1. Ask Tony Abbott how he might fare if he was tragically knocked off his bike one morning and was suddenly disabled?

2. Sign our petition to give persons with disability a place in the workplace. Please visit www.change.org\employme.for.my.ability .

3. Like us on Facebook: Employ Me and PWD, People with Disability Australia Inc and share your story with us. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Employme/170725676462914

4. Visit http://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/

5. Contact your local MP and lobby them by linking them to our blog : okmeblogspot.com.au

6. Load up their facebook, blackbook, twittersphere, instagram, even send them a telegram, just make them aware of our blog : okmeblogspot.com.au

7. Blog up their system with our Blog, the disabled community are counting on you!

And here's a great initiative from the US.....Why don't we just do it.

Thanks a million….from all of us at EmployMe.

$50 - $85 billion is available to Australian businesses - every year

How, you ask?

Simple - by employing and INCLUDE-ing people with disabilities in the workplace in Australia.

The cost of exclusion of people with disability from the workforce is between 3-5% of GDP (See: http://sebastian.buckup.de/4.html).  The current GDP of Australia is just on $1.6 trillion dollars ($1.6T) so using the 3-5% estimate of this report gives the cost of exclusion in Australia as between $50 and $85 billion per annum!!! That's right; it costs the Australian economy between $50 and $85 billion dollars every year to sustain the exclusion and discrimination that is the day-to-day reality of many people with disabilities.

Did you know that there are more than 1.3 million unemployed persons in Australia with a disability. Currently in Australia, statistics show the unemployment rate is 5.7% for able bodied workers but 60% for people with a disability!!! 

The above figures scream out to us that there are massive benefits to the economy by employing people with disability. If you would like more information please contact us at EmployMe. Or tell us your story on this blog page. So please feel free to add to this blog or contact us with your details if you would like more info?

If you would like to employ someone with a disability or know more about how you can set up your business to employ those with a disability from our untapped labour force, then:

1. Contact us at www.EmployMe.com

2. Say hello and like us on our Facebook pages: Employ Me and PWD, People with Disability Australia Inc.

3. Please sign our petition at www.change.org\employme.for.my.ability

Employing someone with a disability is definitely an investment in economic growth!

A Country of Contradictions - Australia vs. Germany

The Australian government does nothing for disabled people!

Do Australians include those with disabilities in their community and workforce? I am not so sure.

How do I know this? Petra, a young German woman described her stay in Australia in a blog. Petra is a paraplegic and she is in a wheelchair. At passport control, many questions were asked of her which did not make her feel welcome. “How can inclusion of the disabled be more successful”, she thought.

Compared to Germany where society is not always open to people with disabilities, the legal frameworks allow for a life of equality.On a human level, inclusion in Australia is successful. Nevertheless, the country has no legislation for the disabled. Thus, the integration of disabled people is poor because workers are not obliged to employ disabled people. Over 4 million Australians have a disability. 2.1 million Australians of working age (15 – 64 years) have a disability. People with disability have an employment rate of 39.8%, compared to 79.4% for people without a disability.

So, are people with disabilities integrated in Australia? No!

As an organization, EmployMe advocates that disabled people are employed and integrated in businesses as they are in Germany. EmployMe believes that companies should employ disabled people so that they make up at least 5% of employees in a company (for companies with over 20 employees). This is comparable with the legal regulation in Germany of 5%.A company should have the chance to voluntarily introduce this rate of employment for the disabled and if this does not work, we want a legal change. The company does not need to tread alone because EmployMe want to help them and want to find the right employee for the respective job.

EmployMe advocates legal frameworks for the disabled, so that an equal life is possible for everyone in society.

For further information you can link to our Facebook page - EmployMe at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Employme/170725676462914

You can help us and make a difference, by linking us. Visit our website www.employme.com.au

Change the future for disabled people and vote for EmployMe.

Who Said I Can’t?

Discrimination of the worst kind ... against the disadvantaged members of our community …are you guilty of this?

Sleep peacefully at night and learn from the pros’

This company is breaking all the rules and doing it by providing employment to some of the most disadvantaged members of our community!

...Export sales of used clothes up by 15% adding an additional 9 000 tons of unwanted clothing for export! Totaling at a weight of over 60 000 tons!

How does he do it?

Well, the answer is simple. This company takes advantage of well structured high incentivisation from Government aid agencies schemes which promotes the employment disabled workers.

They are employed to collect, sort, and repackage clothes that people no longer require from households Australia wide. You know, the hand me downs, the favorite kids sleeping pj’s the old dressing gown and of course last year’s fashion that is now out dated! And why not? The government provides incredible incentive schemes to help them out, surely we can too…

A little known secret in this particular operation is that a whopping 95% of the staff are [dis]abled!

If we took a moment to reflect on unemployment provided stats provided by the ABS. (Australian bureau of Statistics)

Source: ABS, 2003, p26; Productivity Commission, Volume 2: Appendices, pA.6. Persons aged 15-64 years living in households. “The result of a lower labour force participation rate, when combined with a higher unemployment rate, is that people with disabilities are less likely to be employed than others. In 1993 a person with a disability was 23 per cent less likely than a person without a disability to be in employment, and in 1998 they were 26 per cent less likely to be employed.”

26%!

What is your percentage of disability workers in your workforce? Would you like to find out how you could make a difference to a disabled persons life? There are government subsidies to help you make that decision more cost effective too. Who ever said you couldn’t?

The skill set and level of dexterity is not essential, when sorting clothing items, a simply recognition of the size, colour and material are all the parameters needed to meet the export requirements set by government agencies. I bet there are many jobs in your company that could be easily outsourced to help disable members of our community too.

For further information you can like us on Facebook: EmployMe. You can help us and make a difference, by please liking us at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Employme/516439028446500?sk=info&edit=eduwork

Visit our Website www.employme.com.au and see how you can get more involved.

Superior Brass’s Diverse Employment Policy

C’mon Aussie C’mon!

You too can give them a fair go;

It’s the Australian thing to do !


Did you know: there are 22,000 people with disabilities employed in one of Australia’s 415 Disabilities Enterprises According to socialtraders.com.au

Superior Brass’s is just one of them that has a new diverse employment policy:

G’day! I’m Ilan from Superior Brass – we’re proud of our diverse employment policy … Oakleigh Sheltered Work shop presented us with over 5 Certificates-Of-Appreciation awards that are proudly displayed in our waiting room in recognition of ongoing employment opportunities our company provides to members of the community whom live with disabilities. The Governments assists in financial support making it a profitable decision too.

As importers, we warehouse and distribute both finished and unfinished product. Some products are packaged locally, and this is where Oakleigh Sheltered-Work Shop steps in. The work involved consists of preparing product laid out on cards together with all its individual components as well as small screws.

Your business too can benefit! It’s a win win for everyone.

During the day soft music can be heard as the workers smile and work happily with a grin. I have been lucky enough to develop a special friendship with Felix who unfortunately suffers from down syndrome. Felix has the necessary skills to complete a multitude of packaging tasks and is especially attuned to focusing on the job he has at hand. From time to time there will be singing heard from the tops of their lungs, which makes me stop and think of how I could take life a little less serious and be happy with what G-d gave me. Felix shows great concern for his fellow workers and is a great team leader, loved by all his fellow workers.

I am of the opinion and would strongly encourage other like business in private enterprise to give these workers a fair-dinkum-go.

As a result of their presence, other workers are affected too. In fact, minor bickering about nonsense has altogether stopped. I believe they too feel a deeper sense of appreciation for life that has a positive effect in their ability to be more compassionate people, more forgiving and less petty minded.

This attitude fosters good working relationships, which has enabled our business to grow as a whole. The ‘little things’ in life are often over looked… simple by changing our work place status quo - we as business leaders can have a great impact providing happiness, wealth, and a higher standard of living to those members of our community who are less fortunate.

As the Government offers employment subsidies it makes good business senses too.

If you have had experiences in employing disabled members of our community, please blog below and share your thoughts – we’d love to find out how you have made the difference to someone less fortunate then you!

For further information you can like us on Facebook: EmployMe. You can help us and make a difference, please like us. https://www.facebook.com/for.employme?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Employme/170725676462914

Visit our Website www.employme.com.au and see how you can get more involved..

Take another look

We are all disabled!

The question is to what extent !?

Unless you're an angel, but for that matter, you wouldn't be reading this blog because you would already know what I am going to write about! ... We of the human being specie all have to struggle with something…

...most of us have to struggle with some emotional disability – especially when it comes to a time when we really need to call our own actions into question BUT... We all too often paint ourselves in glowing pictures, always judge ourselves favourably, is this too a form of a disability - of fooling one ’s self?

Conversely, we all too often scrutinise the other with convicting eyes when we don’t even know the full story – most of us are too quick to criticise the other without taking stock of our own limiting pre-disposition… the truth is we are all disabled –

BUT

Does that mean that we're not employable?

No way !

So then, why do we discriminate against others who are less fortunate than ourselves who have disabilities of a physical nature but are more than capable of the following tasks...

• Assembly and mechanical work

• Shrink packaging

• General packaging

• Blister packaging

• Header card and bagging

• Skin packaging

• Labelling cartons, products

• Bottle labelling

• Direct mail functions

• Collating promotional literature, manuals

• Ultra Sonic welding• And more…..

If you have had experiences in employing disabled members of our community, please blog below and share your thoughts – we'd love to find out how you have made the difference to someone less fortunate than yourself!

For further information you can like us on Facebook: EmployMe. You can help us and make a difference, please like us.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Employme/170725676462914