Half of Australian managers have never hired a person with disability, survey shows,

Luke Henriques-Gomes, social affairs and inequality editor

YouGov poll indicates nearly one in 10 HR professionals were not open to recruiting a person with disability in the future.

Half of Australian managers and human resources professionals say their organisation has never hired a person with disability and nearly one in 10 admit they wouldn’t want to in the future, according to a new survey.

The YouGov survey of 501 Australian middle managers and HR professionals also found dissatisfaction with the $1bn-a-year disability employment services program (Des), which pays private providers to place jobseekers into work.

The survey, commissioned by the social enterprise Jigsaw, comes as the Albanese government urges businesses ahead of its upcoming jobs summit to employ people with disability to meet labour force shortages.

The survey found 50% of Australian managers/HR professionals said they or their business have never hired or worked with a person with disability.

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Read the full article here on The Guardian website, or click below to read a PDF.

Jigsaw commissioned YouGov to conduct market research with Australian managers and HR professionals to uncover their attitudes toward and perceived barriers surrounding employing people with disability. With a backdrop of a Disability Royal Commission and reform of existing Australia Government Disability Employment Services (DES), Jigsaw aims to raise awareness and uncover the barriers to achieving inclusivity of Australians with disability in the workforce.

About Jigsaw

Jigsaw is a social enterprise that provides an innovative pathway to open employment for people with disability. By embedding a comprehensive skill-based training program within our commercial document and data management business, Jigsaw enables people with disability to achieve their employment goals at their own pace. Jigsaw’s holistic approach starts from the very basics of core work skills and supports trainees all the way through to transition to open employment with ongoing support and coaching once they have transitioned. 

Jigsaw is located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, with Canberra and Perth locations coming soon.