Two iconic organisations have come together to help support the needs of unemployed people who are blind or have low vision, to gain meaningful work opportunities.
Vision Australia CEO Ron Hooton and The Salvation Army Employment Plus Managing Director Greg Moult have signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations.
The Memorandum of Understanding covers Disability Employment Services (DES), jobactive and Transition to Work and will take effect immediately.
Each year, The Salvation Army’s employment services assist 70,000 Australians to find employment through the Australian Government’s jobactive, Transition to Work and the NSW Government’s Smart, Skilled and Hired (youth employment) programs. They provide a wide range of job search, recruitment, training and Allied Health support services to job seekers and employers.
As part of this MOU, if someone who is blind or has low vision contacts The Salvation Army Employment Plus, they will be directed to connect with Vision Australia services.
Also, as The Salvation Army Employment Plus’ newest partner, Vision Australia has been invited to be part of a Disability Advisory Panel commencing in late 2017.
The Disability Advisory Panel will be comprised of delegates from DES, The Salvation Army, other disability services including NDIS, government, academics, advocacy groups and people and employers with lived experience of disability.
The panel will meet once per quarter to discuss key issues / challenges affecting the disability sector and to find innovative ways to work together on key policy and service delivery issues.