Employment

Employment means working for an organisation and getting paid.
Employment can be:

• full-time
• part-time
• casual
• temporary
• flexible working hours
• on-call
• shift work
• contract work

Other employment opportunities you may wish to consider could be school or work-based apprenticeships and traineeships.  For more information about apprenticeships and traineeships click on Australian Apprenticeships or Apprenticentre.
 
There are many ways to find a job in the regular labour market including:

• looking in the ‘Positions Vacant’ section of the newspaper
• searching on-line job boards
• through networks: e.g. friends, family
• through Australian Government Employment Services

Specialist employment services

In addition to employment assistance services provided through Australian Government funded programs, including the Job Network service, there are specialist employment services supporting people with a disability to gain and retain employment.

Specialist assistance is available for people with a disability seeking employment in the general labour market (Open Employment) Open employment providers are called Disability Employment Network Providers (DEN).  Each state has DEN providers and they can be found by looking on the ACE National website and then click on Western Australia.

Specialist services are also available in a more supported work environment (Business Service). Each state has Business Service providers and they can be found by looking on the National Disability Services website and then click on Western Australia.

• Open employment
• Australian Disability Enterprises (formerly Business Services)
• Initiatives and schemes
• What are employers looking for?
• Labour market information
• Workplace learning

General information for young people joining the workforce
Find out about what to expect, what is expected of you, and who to contact if you need help at:

Wirl Career is a site that provides an online jobs guide where students can see and hear about careers.  This site features a range of individual video segments featuring insights and tips from young practitioners working in different fields.

Job Access
JobAccess provides advice on every stage of the employment process—preparing to look for work, how to look for jobs and, if needed, support in the workplace.

Career Tips 
This site has been developed specifically as an information guide, resource kit and referral source for people with disabilities who are in their final years of school, who are about to commence or are undertaking vocational education and training (VET) studies, or university studies, or have recently graduated from one of these pathways.

Other information
The Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET). ADCET is a web-based information resource about post-secondary education, training and employment for people with a disability or ongoing medical conditions, their parents, carers, teachers, careers advisors and employers as well as community and government agencies.

The resource includes a collection of answers to Frequently Asked Questions, Fact Sheets, News/Events and Resources, Articles, Links and Case Studies.