Jobsupport celebrates significant milestone

Eighteen-year-old Houssam Asmar is the 400th Jobsupport client to be placed into open employment, the Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator Kay Patterson, said tonight.

Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator Kay Patterson, congratulated Jobsupport’s milestone on the placement of their 400th client into open employment at an awards presentation tonight in Sydney.

Jobsupport provides an employment assistance service to people with an intellectual disability helping them gain and maintain open employment in jobs to which they are suited.

Senator Patterson said: “Houssam has been interested in a career in retailing and with the assistance of Jobsupport he has located a suitable job that matches his skills, hours and job preference at Woolworths in Riverwood.

“Jobsupport continues to provide on-going maintenance support for both Houssam and Woolworths. I congratulate both Woolworths and Houssam on a job well done.”

Jobsupport operates from four outlets across Sydney and at the award celebrations Jobsupport presented awards to long-term clients, long-term employers and employers who have employed a number of Jobsupport’s clients.

Senator Patterson said: “Jobsupport has been operating since 1986 and it is the first organisation to be nationally accredited under the new Quality Assurance system. It received an overall rating of ‘commendable’, which has only been achieved by three other organisations.

“The Australian Government provided funding of over $3.4 million in 2002-03, which helped Jobsupport to assist their clients. More than $400,000 of this funding was case based funding.

“Case based funding is a major initiative of the Australian Government’s disability service reforms. An extensive trial and subsequent evaluation has shown that Case based funding enhances job seeker access, choice of services and delivers durable employment outcomes.

“It is a fee-for-service arrangement where fees, based on the job seeker’s support needs and employment outcomes, are paid to providers to assist job seekers with disabilities to find and keep employment.

“The Australian Government is committed to assisting people with disabilities to maximise their potential and actively participate in the workforce and their communities. It is through the excellent work of services such as Jobsupport that the Australian Government can deliver on this commitment,” Senator Patterson said.