In this guide:
Employment gives you more than just an income. It helps to build independence, confidence and connections. For young adults with disability, finding and maintaining work may feel like a challenge, but the right support worker can also help to make employment goals a reality.
The right support worker can provide guidance tailored to your young person’s strengths, helping them navigate the path from job search to the workplace environment.
Understanding your young person's employment goals
A great support worker will start by listening to build a genuine connection and understand your young person’s interests, strengths and challenges. This will help them to discover what employment success really means to your young person.
This process will identify what your young person might enjoy, skills they want to develop, and the work environment that suits them best. Support workers can help to explore different employment options, whether that’s supported employment, volunteering opportunities, mainstream work or self-employment.
If your support worker has knowledge of existing services, they may help to connect your young person with resources and programs that can help their employment journey.
Long term planning
Beyond the job search, support workers can also help with long-term goal planning. They may help to break big employment ambitions into manageable steps, and create flexible plans that adapt as needs change.
By tracking milestones and celebrating the small wins along the way, support workers can help to keep your young person motivated.
How support workers help with finding a job
Job applications
The practical aspects of finding work will be much more manageable with good support. A support worker may help with writing a resume, and highlight any relevant strengths or experience. They’ll help tailor applications to specific roles, making sure that each submission shows your young person in the best light.
Gathering all the documentation and references together becomes much easier with some guidance. If it’s relevant, support workers may also help create a portfolio of work.
Job interview preparation
Being prepared for a job interview makes a huge difference to the outcome. Support workers will practise common interview questions, role-play different interview scenarios, and help prepare thoughtful questions to ask employers. They can also explain strategies for managing interview anxiety, to help turn nervous energy into confident communication.
Their support may also extend to help with transport, ensuring your young person arrives at interviews on time and feeling prepared.
Building the right skills for the workplace
Communication skills
Social skills
Understanding workplace culture can also be challenging. Support workers may help a young person understand these things, explaining everything from lunch breaks to how to ask for help.
Organisational skills
Independence
Building independence means developing skills beyond the actual workplace. This includes travel training for commuting confidently, morning routines for arriving on time, and perhaps most importantly, self-advocacy for requesting adjustments or support when it’s needed.
Finding a support worker for your young person
The best support worker will bring qualities and experience that align with your child’s unique employment goals.
Look for someone who understands the field or industry your young person is interested in. They should understand that employment support is different to daily care tasks and that the focus is on building skills and achieving employment goals.
A personal connection is very important. Find someone your young person connects with and who genuinely believes in your young person’s potential. The support worker’s encouragement and advocacy can make the difference between giving up and pushing through challenges.
Through Mable, you can search for support workers with employment support experience, read reviews from others they’ve helped, and connect with someone who’s the right fit for your young person.
The next step towards employment
Support workers can play an important role in achieving employment goals. With the right support, guidance and belief, meaningful work is absolutely within reach for your young person. Take the first step towards their future today.
Explore support workers on Mable who can help turn career aspirations into reality.
This article and any of our articles linked to it provides our summary of this topic and terms and is intended for general purposes only.