Disability Employment Service Program
Essential Personnel is the only Disability Employment Service (DES) servicing the Wheatbelt and surrounding areas. Our purpose is to help people with a disability find and maintain suitable employment in the open employment market. We offer a wide range of assistance including pre-employment training, work experience and work trials, tailored job search, job placement, advocacy with employers to ensure that they are receiving the same working conditions as their co-workers, on and off-the-job support.
Essential Personnel offers high schools service and support regarding work placements under the VET Assistance Program. We have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Northam Senior High School to provide support and assist in finding work placements for students with a disability in both the Education Support and mainstream programs.
Essential Choices (ATE trading name of Essential Personnel) has also recently been pre-qualified to deliver services under the Alternatives to Employment (ATE) program funded by the Disability Services Commission. This program is suitable for those people with a disability who may not have the capacity or desire for a minimum of 8 hours employment per week and who meet the eligibility criteria set by the Disability Services Commission. The purposes of the ATE program are to encourage and support social participation in the community, personal independence, life long learning (support in developing skills, competencies and knowledge to support an individual’s independence) and enhanced natural support networks (support in developing networks and relationships beyond an individuals family and paid support workers).
DES Program
Essential Personnel can assist people with a disability from the age of 15 to the age of 65 (at time of registration). Usually the prospective client will require a Job Capacity Assessment which can be arranged either through Essential Personnel or Centrelink, depending on whether or not they already receive income support from Centrelink. A fully completed Medical Report (available from Centrelink or Essential Personnel) is required before a Job Capacity Assessment can be arranged. However, if a person is still within the Secondary Education system and has a disability (including intellectual, learning, physical, psychological and/or psychiatric disabilities), special rules apply that do not require the student to have a Job Capacity Assessment to access the DES program. These people are registered as Special School Leavers.
Special School Leavers
Students who have the capacity to work 8 hours per week with assistance who intend to work part time outside of school hours, students who are in the last six months of school and are considering post school options and employment opportunities and full time students who are participating in a school based apprenticeship (recognised by a National Accreditation Council and where a training contact is lodged on the Training Recognition System (TRS) are all eligible to access the DES program.
Referral Process
- Contact Essential Personnel with students whom you think may benefit from accessing the DES program. We will then contact the student via the parent/guardian to explain the registration process
- Although students do not require a Job Capacity Assessment, we do require some evidence of their disability proving the students need for employment assistance support. This can be copies of a previous medical or psychometric assessment (such as a diagnostic report completed by a doctor or specialist including the WISC III assessment), a letter from the school counsellor or psychologist or a report from a community service provider (such as Drug & Alcohol support services etc).
- Confirmation or acknowledge by the Education department or School Principal is required to release the student from their usual school activities for up to 8 hours per week (usually) for the student to participate on the DES program and subsequent employment.
