Jigsaw Connect

Inclusive workplaces

in action.

Jigsaw is a social enterprise which trains and transitions people with disability into mainstream employment. We have a simple vision for the future: an Australia where people with disability are fully included in the workforce.

 

Jigsaw Connect supports organisations to access and engage job seekers with disability to build a more inclusive workforce.

 

Diverse workplaces are good for business, good for individuals and good for society.

Australia lags behind the rest of the developed world in disability employment – missing out on the potential $50bn that workers with disability could add to GDP by 2050. Only 48% of working-age people with disability are employed, compared with 80% in the mainstream.

Yet we know that 85% of Australian businesses report that staff shortages are holding back their ability to operate at full capacity.1

Furthermore, 50% of Australian managers have never hired or worked with a person with disability before, and 71% of these say they have faced too many barriers when trying to do so.

Clearly, Australia’s current mechanisms for disability employment are not working.

It’s time for change.

1. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/disability/people-with-disability-in-australia/contents/employment/employment-rate-and-type

With Jigsaw, you can overcome these barriers and harness the power of a truly inclusive workforce.

Take action with us today.

Enquire now

Jigsaw Connect makes it easy to employ diverse talent in three steps:

1. Match roles with diverse talent

Search our talent pool or post roles through an easy-to-navigate online platform. Our Connect team will introduce you to candidates, support your selections and arrange workplace visits.

2. Onboard talent

We offer a range of customised ways to job match candidates with employers, so that both are set up for success. Our unique work trial model supports your chosen candidate to spend 1 – 3 weeks experiencing the role on a trial basis. This helps build confidence in a job match, identify any adjustments, and ensures managers are familiar with working with an employee with a disability in a supported way.

3. Training and support

Ongoing training and support for both your new hire and their manager ensures lasting, sustainable success.

Access to confident, job-ready candidates.

 

All candidates in our talent pool have progressed through Jigsaw’s ‘prepare for work, through work’ pathway that prepares people with disability through two key areas:

Trainee and Tammie Usher sitting at a desk looking at each other

ACADEMY: Comprehensive training in 20 core soft skills

Vital soft skills such as teamwork, punctuality and professional communication are transferable to every workplace. Our skills modules are mapped against corporate and government entry-level roles. With well-developed soft skills put into practice through work experience, Jigsaw candidates are ready to be trained in the technical skills required for a new role.

Jigsaw paid trainee Sarah is sat at a desk scanning large format plans

DIGITAL: Paid employment experience

Our candidates are confident in a work environment following workplace training and paid experience in Jigsaw’s commercial business, delivering digitisation and other services to corporate and government clients.

All our candidates have proven themselves against 20 core work skills, and have experience of paid employment delivering client contracts. We only put candidates forward when we – and they – are confident they are truly job-ready.

Jigsaw trainee is sitting at a desk in front of two monitors.

This leads to better long-term outcomes

Disability Employment Services (DES) are the current, government-funded approach to disability employment. More than 70% of job placements made through DES end in failure, because candidates are placed before they are ready and do not receive adequate support.

We support both you and your new hire for the long-term, to ensure the placement succeeds – which is why 91% of people employed or placed into jobs by Jigsaw retain their employment to this day.

50% of Australian managers have never hired or worked with a person with disability. Jigsaw can help.

Enquire now

Jigsaw Graduate Case Studies: Success in action.

 

Britt L., Project Assistant, Department of Premier & Cabinet

In December 2021, Jigsaw graduate Brittany L. secured a role at Connect partner, NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet. Thanks to her successful employment, Britt feels she can now achieve other life goals, such as saving up to go on a trip overseas. Most importantly, her confidence has soared. “I’m very proud. I never thought I would get this far,” she says. Read more.

Liam P, Cabinet Maker, Fox Wardrobes

Liam started at Fox Wardrobes one day a week and has now progressed to four. He is learning technical skills on-the-job to complement the soft skills he has gained through Jigsaw. “I am absolutely proud of what I’m achieving”, Liam says. Read more. 

Britt V., Receptionist, Acciona

Britt V. secured her first full-time job working as a receptionist at Acciona in 2021. Britt loves the variety of her role and valued the support she received from Jigsaw’s Transitions Coordinator. “I have come a long way since day one”, Britt reflects – it’s why the security and stability of this job mean the world to her. Read more.

Sarah A., ABC

Previously in an unhappy work environment where she felt unsupported, Sarah thrived at Jigsaw. Sarah completed the Jigsaw pathway and followed her passion for film and TV by securing an award wage traineeship working alongside Bus Stop Films for the ABC! “I can’t wait to show the world what I can do,” Sarah says. Read more. 

Connect Partner Case Studies: Success in action.

 

NSW Government | Premier & Cabinet

The Jigsaw Connect  team has developed a partnership with Department Premier and Cabinet to place and support Trainees with a disability into identified roles. We have successfully placed a Project Support Officer into the People, Culture and Talent team, with several more placements to occur in 2022.

Allianz

Jigsaw has partnered with Allianz to increase their claims processing capacity. Having experienced challenges with offshoring, Allianz saw an opportunity during COVID lockdowns to bring the work back to Australia. Jigsaw has partnered with the Allianz Motor department providing a dedicated team managing claims workflow tasks such as: closing Motor Assessment reports, assessment of report diaries, withdrawing claims, repairer invoice payment, and (Aust Accident Management Co) AAMC supplier invoice payment process.

St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney

Jigsaw Connect and St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney have developed a recruitment partnership by identifying suitable roles, adjusting and supporting the selection process and creating support plans for both line managers and employees (Jigsaw trainees). 

Roles in scope include:

  • COVID Screening Administration Officer
  • Wardsperson
  • Ward Clerk – Grade 1/2

Disability in business makes good business:

 

Businesses are losing out when they leave disability inclusion off the agenda. Below are just 5 business benefits of an inclusive workforce, which can help empower your organisation:

1. Improve brand reputation: Companies that improve their inclusion of people with disability were 4 times more likely to outperform their peers in shareholder returns

2. Retain workers: Employees in inclusive workplaces have more job satisfaction and are 4 times more likely to stay longer with their employee.

3. Widen your talent pool: In Australia, over 4.4 million people have disability and 2.1 million are of working age. Of those, there is currently an untapped market of 1 million people with disability seeking employment.

4. Expand your consumer base: There are four times the number of intended customers when products and services are designed “with unique needs in mind.”

5. Engaged workplace culture: NSW Health reports that disability inclusion can improve workplace morale and enhance teamwork in organisations. 1

1. https://www.and.org.au/join-us/why-hire-people-with-a-disability/benefits

With Jigsaw, you can experience the benefits of creating a truly inclusive workforce.

Take action with us, today.

Enquire now

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