At the beginning of 2020, I was asked by Senator Anne Ruston (Minister for Families and Social Services) if I would like to be part of the Disability Employment Advisory Committee (DEAC), a body made up of people with disabilities, employers, service providers, and peak bodies. In doing so, I would have the opportunity to help shape Australia's National Disability Employment Strategy, so I jumped at the chance!
The Federal Government's ambition for the National Disability Employment Strategy has been to address the disadvantage experienced by people with disabilities looking for work. This is an issue I am incredibly passionate about, not least because the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is more than double that of those without disabilities. I firmly believe the recruitment industry and organisations should work with the government to combat this issue. I am proud and delighted to see the DEAC-supported Employ My Ability employment strategy launched by Senator Ruston today.
The launch of Employ My Ability is the culmination of more than two years of development and close engagement between the disability community and DEAC. It represents a significant milestone for disability policy in Australia, providing the foundation for meaningful change over the next decade.
With the agreement of the Prime Minister, the strategy provides the framework through which all governments commit to their role in creating a more inclusive society.
Randstad is committed to endorsing Employ My Ability alongside our pilot project RecruitAble – mainstreaming disability recruitment – and I'm proud that as an organisation, we're striving to change the face of disability recruitment in Australia.
Kerry McQuillan
state director qld & national lead d&i at randstad australia
She is responsible for Randstad’s QLD business. Kerry has worked in the HR and Recruitment industry, both in the UK and Australia for 17 years. Her focus is to support and encourage my teams to be successful, help grow their drive and ambition and to foster inclusion, promote broader perspectives and drive diverse thinking and business results which will help Randstad deliver a distinctive experience for our clients, candidates and for our employees. She is passionate about inclusion and supporting people in obtaining meaningful employment and reducing as many barriers as possible.
