Wage subsidy

Martin Wren - CEO
Nova Employment

Saturday, September 04, 2010
Unfortunately I am often out of sync with my peers and betters.

Wage subsidy and the promotion of wage subsidies as a method to increase the employment of people (and I include people with disability) would be an example of such.

Before I press on – have you ever come with a subsidy? I have not and therefore it occurs to me that I lack the experience to be able to offer valid first hand comment – nevertheless, in the 36 years I have contributed taxes, and for any and each employer that has paid me, I have never attracted a subsidy.

I just got paid, and I hope sincerely that I have always earned sufficient to enable my employer to profit from that work. Because that the way it works: I employ you, pay you $10 and you make me, or save me, more than that.

So why a subsidy?

My opinion (and that’s what this blog is about) is that this comes from a philosophical stance: that the recipient is not deemed to be of sufficient worth to allow for the relationship that I have described. In relation to the employment of people that have a disability I find this concept particularly troubling – surely, if such a person is going to be able to escape the misconception that they are a burden or of less value than their non disabled peers (perceptions that create what Wolfensberger describes as ‘wounding’ experiences) then surely a subsidy risks devaluation of individual worth?

Many years ago and in a rush of ill considered enthusiasm (and possibly less faith or experience with my products value) I became caught up with a scheme that offered employers $7,000 to hire from a range of disadvantaged groups.

A much wiser Penrith business owner pulled me up: “Son, I don’t care if you give me $70,000, if the bastard can’t do the job he ain’t worth having here” And he was right.

The issue centres on ability – and if NOVA candidates have or can develop the ability to create the equation described above (make their boss a profit) than they will gain and retain employment.

Subsidies have only a minor effect upon the creation of opportunity (at least in every study I have read) and perpetuate an inaccurate perception of validity or worth about disadvantaged employees and can be particularly demeaning and damaging to their recipients.

That's not to say that NOVA never uses wage subsidy - sadly an environment has created in which some employers pretty much demand government cash. However, I am proud of the fact that we rarely* resort to this approach, preferring to market on individual ability and our own post placement support as the offset for any initial productivity issues.

Personally, I remain staunchly opposed.

* 6 NOVA outlets have not used a subsidy in the past 12 months , 6 have used subsidies twice or less.

(Whoops! – Don’t Google ‘subsidy’ – you get a rival DES provider! )

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Diary note: Wednesday 18th Feb 2009 NOVA's second "Autism & Employment" meeting is being held at our refurbished Chapel Street premises - this meeting is a follow up from our first get together and offers an opportunity to review our progress, have a look at our site and plan for a proposed March 1st start date....

6/12/2008 4:48:59 PM
3.23.30! That's when Mr Rob Drimal kissed his bride, the new Mrs Christine Drimal (nee Harrington). I'm getting old and so I am allowed to shed a tear (which I did)....

13/11/2008 10:50:08 AM
I knew it (from today's ninemsn): According to British psychologist Daniel Freeman, nearly one in four Londoners regularly has paranoid thoughts....

12/11/2008 9:54:39 AM
Ladies & gentlemen Please feel free to join us at a: Public Meeting Autism and Employment A meeting to discuss the specific employment needs of people with Autism and program modifications necessary for NOVA Employment to maximise the potential outcomes for such people....

11/11/2008 3:30:41 PM
Transition to Work 3 reasons not to send someone you care about to a sheltered workshop or 'business service' 1. "Sheltered employment settings fail to provide individuals meaningful employment outcomes....

5/11/2008 4:52:27 PM
It's about 5pm and it's been a testing day with all sorts of hassles. I'm getting older and balder and there's another bill in the mail box....

3/11/2008 8:19:55 PM
Facebook You may have noticed that we are taking an innovative approach to the use of social network sites: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=84951935077&ref=ts....

3/11/2008 2:40:28 PM
Fabulous - absolute magic! Our latest E-Zine should be posted by the time you read this (the one for October - and yes, I know it is already November) and what an magazine it is! By far our best effort and so much good news! My congratualtions to Don and the Cafe team for a great result - well done Transition on caring for our new Minister, we're doing alright with the Diversity thing, Cherry is a great good news story and what do you think of our tilt at 'social networking'? If you haven't signed up as a friend of NOVA's can I suggest you could do worse? We are starting to use Facebook as a means of sharing information and ideas and we will be using the social sites to hold meetings and extend invitations to NOVA initiatives....

26/10/2008 12:08:46 PM
Marvellous Night! On Friday (24th Oct) NOVA Employment - Broken Hill hosted what I hope will be the first of many gala nights, an evening that was a great success and showcased many local employers and the ability of NOVA's most recent workers and Transition to Work program....

23/10/2008 8:53:23 AM
What's happening at NOVA? This week: Tuesday/Wednesday: NOVA uncapped program forum Thursday / Friday: Broken Hill Gala Dinner Friday: DADHC MInister to visit NOVA Saturday: Orana Far West Business Awards (Cafe 64 wins again!) Busy week - and we have placed 10 people into employment....

14/10/2008 7:09:07 PM
NOVA's on Facebook!! Join our group: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=84951935077&ref=ts So far we are small but growing and I hope that this can be a supportive path to help people who have a disability get help, ideas and share experiences about finding and keeping work....

24/09/2008 1:29:14 PM
Check out the video (yellow box, right of this post). What a great story - thanks again to CBS for their promotion of the achievements of people who have disability. Hope you enjoy as much as I did....

22/09/2008 5:56:19 PM
Cafe 64 We have posted a new video www.novaemployment.com.au/webcast.asp that features some of our team at Walgett. So watch it! This is a great advert for Don, Millie and the team - they are doing a fabulous job and I would recommend a detour to the Cafe for anyone travelling out west....

21/09/2008 12:26:59 PM
Whoops! Where did the last 2 months go - my apologies for not keeping my own page up to speed. As you may have noticed we have a raft of new initiatives under way including a 'good news' post (this page)....

21/07/2008 6:40:11 PM
Oh Happy Day! The ‘Welfare to Work’ process created some real barriers for person with a disability. One of the most onerous was/is (until 8th September) the procedure for accessing DEN (Disability Employment Network) services like NOVA....

29/06/2008 4:39:19 PM
Pretty Much Right - the latest DADHC audit: NOVA Employment and Training Inc presents as a well organised and well managed service provider. The service users are happy and enthusiastic about the programs in which they are taking part....

8/06/2008 8:53:26 AM
Fixed Link My apologies - the link below didn't work, does now....

7/06/2008 9:55:04 AM
I don't know whether any readers also use DragonDictate, but it's my new toy, and I am spending the weekend getting used to it and teaching it the sound of my accent! I actually saw this program used by one of my staff with such speed and accuracy that I couldn't resist....

23/05/2008 4:23:15 PM
Isn't the Web amazing! You may have noticed we have a new feature - 'live chat' (see the homepage) - presently I am the operator. How cool is this? I can see that right now there are 7 people viewing our web site - 1 is from South Australia, there's someone in Lidcombe looking up 'employment agencies in Broken Hill' (through Google), a Queenslander (sorry about last night), 2 from Westmead and a viewer from Nambour - welcome 1 and all....

22/05/2008 2:56:05 PM
Boot Camp! Another large intake of new staff kick off with NOVA on Monday. These fortunate few are the results of our latest hiring round which has seen a steadily increasing nuimber of applicants....

22/05/2008 2:41:40 PM
Still the best! For the past 18 years I have been involved in helping people with disability find work - these days I am more of a pen pusher but I still get to share in the excitement and genuine joy when 1 of NOVA's clients finds work....

21/05/2008 6:39:53 AM
Problems! I've got more problems than you can poke a stick at! Here's where we are at: To handle the present number of placements some of my staff have to bi-locate (only the very best can do this)....

10/05/2008 6:30:41 PM
What a great venue!! NOVA Employment - Richmond is on the move. With the addition of several new staff in recent months we simply outgrew our old Laurence Street premises....

10/05/2008 6:12:48 PM
I am forgetful of the title of the National Council for Intellectual Disabilities journal. I worte this for it, and it's in this month's edition: NOVA Employment: Opportunities abound to maximise the employment potential of people with intellectual disability....

5/05/2008 8:31:58 PM
Deeply worrying! I spent the best part of this day listening to my peers discussing the employment issues facing people who have mental health problems....

4/05/2008 8:19:12 AM
I cut and paste the following article from Nine MSN http://ninemsn.com.au/ I'm never sure about the rules for knicking stuff so I hope that my firm belief that Channel 9 are the best journalists in town and Patrick Worsnip's done a good job will keep me out of court....

30/03/2008 9:16:12 PM
Not sure whether I have given my Deaf staff a plug. This is them: http://www.deafjobs.com.au/filmPlayer.asp?Section=Staff%20Profiles these ladies (and their Manager, David) are, to quote Tina, 'simply the best'! - it's probably not for me to judge whether they are 'better than all the rest', but I believe they are and this team has made an enormous difference to the job opportunities avilable to Deaf people across Sydney....

30/03/2008 7:49:21 PM
After the grumpy posts of last weekend I thought it might be time to get back to the good news theme of this site. A new 'news' article points out that NOVA now averages 2 job starts every working day! What a credit to the hard working staff across NOVA's outlets....

17/03/2008 4:07:22 PM
I arnarf got the ump! (you really need to have heard my accent for this to work) One of the most important principles and values underpinning NOVA Employment is the right of every person to work....

9/03/2008 6:11:05 PM
Not sure how many times I have started CEO's post's with the words, what a week! - But , at the risk of becoming boring, what a week we've had! NOVA held its latest induction program for new staff and I am pleased to formally welcome the 12 latest members of our team - Gary & Rita (Campbelltown), Cindy (Tuncurry), Greg (Hurstville), Stuart (Katoomba) Amy (Miranda), Joanne (Penrith), Robert & Kay (Port Macquarie), Amie & Johnathan (Richmond) and Sarah (Taree)....

26/02/2008 8:23:57 PM
Today (26th of February), is the first day of NOVA’s managers planning forum. NOVA managers meet four times a year and apart from the formal training component of each meeting....

22/02/2008 8:07:53 PM
Be warned that there are lies. damned lies and statistics. Last year was the first full year of our new wizz-bang website. we had the services of a professional web master (Mr Steven Daniel - new aka 'daddy') and we added some first class back room features (even beter than the stuff we let everyone see! We also keep first class records of who, where, why and when for our website - we do our best to see who's viewing which bits are most popular and so on....

21/02/2008 8:25:53 PM
There's some nonsense talked in the disability 'industry'! I read some literature today which described workers who have a disability as 'loyal' and 'long serving'....

20/02/2008 6:31:32 PM
It is really important to start this post with a word of caution, the CEOs page represents my feelings and my thoughts, and not necessarily those of this organisation....

20/02/2008 5:56:45 PM
As time passes and technology becomes more and more sophisticated, so computer programs offer the opportunity not only to save time, but also to enable access to employment for people who in the past might not have been able to participate....

17/02/2008 5:23:45 PM
Positions Vacant. You will note we are (seemingly constantly) advertising for new staff. NOVA is adding about 25 new jobseekers every month. Depending upon the need of those individuals this means 1-2 new vacancies every month....

17/02/2008 5:11:29 PM
I had the privilege of spending Friday at Parliament House in Canberra. Apart from the impressive building there were other reasons to be inspired. The reason for the trip was a forum on mental health and disability employment, convened by a coalition of some 17 disability and related entity organisations from across the country....

10/02/2008 3:37:15 PM
Just realised that I haven't added to this page since 07! My apologies. I had a great break - saw my brother for the first time in 20 years (yes really - madness!) and then spent a couple of weeks staring at the ceiling courtesy of an aging back....

16/12/2007 12:05:49 PM
Almost another year under our collective (NOVA) belt. This has been the most successful year in the programs history and we have launched a number of exciting new initiatives to ensure we stay on top of our game....

25/11/2007
New Masters! After 11 years we have new masters. What will that mean for people who have disabilities and want to work? I guess this'll depend - If Peter Garrett is right (and everything is up for grabs!) then there is hope! Work Choices has opened up new opportunities for our jobseekers and to date hasn't been an obstacle to employment....

23/11/2007
What a week(s)! After last weeks managers forum (thanks to all the members of my management team for their encouragement and enthusiasm) we moved into a combined Employment Consultant's Forum and, concurrently, a new staff induction....

28/10/2007
I have been asked about our view of the respective political parties approach to disability employment with a view to voting at the upcoming election....

28/10/2007
7000 kilometres in 10 days! That's how far the latest road and air trips have taken me. In this time I've seen Gilgandra and the drought affected towns in between there and Sydney....

18/10/2007
What a week! After a great night at Gilgandra (see below) I travelled to Broken Hill on Monday for a staff hiring round - we had a tremendous field of applicants and interviewed any number of people who would each have made great employment consultants....

12/10/2007
I am in Gilgandra tonight for the Orana Business Awards Dinner where our wonderful team at Cafe 64, winners of the Best Community Business Award, will be recognised for their efforts....

6/10/2007
Yesterday, I cried (Can't remember who to attribute, but I think I am unitentionally quoting (looked it up - Iyanla Vansant)) - truly, I did. I will miss Racheal Neal like you would miss the loss of sunshine....

22/09/2007
The loss of Pavarotti (see below) was not overcome by my introduction to Shannon Noll (War of the World's), nor was my mood improved by my hosts questions in relation to Richard Burton - who's he? and Justin Hayward - 'he sings with the Moody Blues' - who are they? However, the week has enabled me to spend some time with my staff and I must say that this was both encouraging and refreshing....

7/09/2007
con te partiro!...

24/08/2007
Although I am having a break, the receipt of an additional 35 places for our NSW & Qld offices is cause for celebration and I would like to congratulate my staff on the results that have led to the awarding of these spots....

18/08/2007
We launched www.deafjobs.com.au on Wednesday - check out this great site, and although most of the videos don't have sound (the deaf can't hear) you can listen in to the employer interviews....

15/08/2007
www.deafjobs.com.au take a look!...

11/08/2007
Four days to go and I am having a very busy weekend - we're hiring staff for Logan (Queensland), which is where I am now and over the last couple of days in Penrith & Blacktown....

6/08/2007
Nine days to go!...

25/07/2007
In these enlightened ‘Work Choices’ days there are all sorts of new ways of remunerating staff. The following information was taken from today’s ninemsn: The St George Bank is offering employees participation in a new ‘scheme’ - Workers in the scheme would be paid 80 percent of their salary for four years, and then the same during their fifth year away....

23/07/2007
Today I've been sorting through the dozens of job applications for our recent hiring round - This is just an acknowledgement of the effort put in by applicants....

11/07/2007
Values Vs Stars & KPI’s In the over 20 years I have been involved with vocational programs for people who have a disability there have been many changes in emphasis and direction and, in attempts to meet these, a wide range of demands placed upon service providers....

9/07/2007
Great Customer Service (Borders vs Amazon Books) Regular readers may remember that I had some issues with Amazon books (the problem ran over 6 months, cost me a motza and worse, wasted my time)....

26/06/2007
I am told there are lies, damned lies and statistics. That said, sometime today we will pass our highest ever number of visitors (measured by month) and the largest usage (by files accessed) in the history of our webpage....

23/06/2007
Hopefully this weekend we will post some simply fabulous new material to our web pages. Our staff development program went well with over 50 staff in attendance....

17/06/2007
This is going to be a big week for the staff at NOVA. Tomorrow (Monday) we finish our most recent staff hiring. The standard of applicants has been as high as usual and I have personally taken part in interviews for Taree, Hurstville & Katoomba - with Mr Hessam's help, all successfully filled....

9/06/2007
Yesterday saw us host the presentation of completetion certificates to our most recent graduates of the Penrith outlets Job Club program. I would like to thank Mr Philippe Liniere Penrith RSL's executive chef and Mrs Nan Brown of Erskine Park High for their support and particularly for 'bravery in front of camera'....

8/06/2007
New Walgett videos - follow link to Video Broadcasts and then look for the Cafe - well done Kris & Don (and video host Racheal)...

8/06/2007
Heaps happening (as always) we are in the middle of a staff hiring round with interviews next week. We had a 'cranky' call yesterday from someone who didn't get an interview....

26/05/2007
Did you see today's nine msn? Check this: A company owned by Kevin Rudd's multi-millionaire wife stripped workers of key award conditions for an annual salary of only slightly more than minimum wage, News Ltd papers report....

23/05/2007
Yes, thank you, I know the last posting is inflammatory. It's meant to be. I know there are some excellent 'business services'. However, it is also true that the present government funding emphasis on making a profit also often denies the most effective and productive workers an opportunity to join in our society to the fullest extent possible....

20/05/2007
Bright Shining Fib! Because I am old and don't have a life, I often watch 'gardening australia' on the ABC. It's a great show and I really enjoy it....

20/05/2007
Back to business. Hopefully this week we will have a heap of new material posted to the web. This will include a large feature on our Walgett cafe including some very interesting interviews with our workers....

20/05/2007
Didier Drogba scores in the 116th minute to give the best side on the night a well deserved win....

20/05/2007
(a prediction!) - Chelsea 4 - Manchester United 0 Go the blues - I was there in '70 when Peter Osgood & David Webb did Leeds - 40 years a fan!...

29/04/2007
In answer to an inquiry. Visitors may also have noticed Mrs Neal & Ms Goyer http://www.novaemployment.com.au/workingForNova.asp wearing graduation gowns....

27/04/2007
A little perspective is always handy! Check this out...

25/04/2007
Everyday seems to be a holiday in April! Our regular visitors will have noticed that there's new video content (under 'video broadcasts' - left) featuring 2 of our north cosat workers and their mums....

24/04/2007
We have successfully inducted a great new group to our program (see 'News' article from home page). NOVA will hire at least once more in 2007 and to assist in this process we have set up a new 'Working For NOVA' link from this and every page....

15/04/2007
My, how time flies! It's been over a month since I've posted - so much has happened over the past 5 weeks too. Here's the highlights: 16th April (tomorrow) My congratulations to Natalie, Sharon, Ashlyn, Layla, Susan, Peter, Cassandra and Ian join our team....

6/03/2007
Actually, I am on holiday, but NOVA marches on and we have called a new hiring round for April. If you haven't seen the front page we are looking for staff for several offices and it looks very likely (read, it's going to happen) that we'll be hiring additional staff for our training department in the very near future....

5/03/2007
NOVA Managers met with DEWR staff for the annual 'how'ya goin' and it appears that we are going pretty well. For those outside of 'the industry' there's a lot of talk about a new performance rating system - similar to the Job Network....

15/02/2007
We have a new class starting next week (19th) my congratulations to our new staff in Broken Hill, Richmond, Blacktown, Hurstville, Katoomba and Port Macquarie....

15/02/2007
I took down the Woolies stuff - but they are still a great employer!...

14/02/2007
It was a real privilege for me to meet today with 4 of NOVA's most succesful and skilled employment consultants. The purpose of this meeting was to kick off a new initiative for our staff - a Mentor program for new workers....

25/01/2007
We are in the middle of our hiring round (met with 8 individuals yesterday and will finish Port Macquarie on Tuesday evening) We have some outstanding applicants, great experience, great qualifications and best of all a great 'can-do' attitude....

23/01/2007
Just about to go shopping (see below) and then its time to pack and head for NOVA's Taree and Foster offices. We are in the middle of a hiring round and have the privilege of setting up a new outlet in Port Macquarie....

13/01/2007
More than 300 people have downloaded our information and positions vacant package. I am really pleased with the interest that has been shown and we already have a large number of applicaions (closing date is next Friday - 19th)....

11/01/2007
From time to time dreadful, awful, pathetic ideas resurface and somehow find friends and sympathisers amongst the "haven't actually followed this thought through" mob - unpaid work trials is one of such....

5/01/2007
Resolutions for 2007? I don't have any, either for myself or for NOVA. However, I do have 1 goal that is of the highest importance and you can count on us to be giving this goal 100% effort....

2/01/2007
Welcome back!! NOVA canvasses its jobseekers/workers for their opinion of our service - we send out feedbacks forms in an attempt to ensure we are looking after our clients and to provide an opportunity for suggestions for improvement....

29/11/2006
While others slumber NOVA staff are hard at work preparing for an exciting and innovative 12 months. We are ensuring all of our programs are ready for growth during 2007....

7/12/2006
http://www.novaemployment.com.au/downloads.asp We have reinstated all of our old downloads (you may have to go to the bottom of the link page to get to the material you are after)....

28/11/2006
The DMI support video has been posted - you can follow the links from video broadcast to staff training to see NOVA's training manager take you through the forms we use (available on our 'downloads page)....

24/11/2006
I forgot to (and there should have been at least a trumpet blast) announce we have posted the first in what will be a series of alternative language videos to this site: http://www....

24/11/2006
My thanks to Steven Daniel (our IT guru) and our Training Manager, Anne Goyer for their respective contributions to our DMI material (for the uninitiated this is the Disability Maintenance Instrument and its a method/record of how much assistance a person with a disability may need after they have been in work for 6 months)....

15/11/2006
Yesterday, Australia's high court ruled that the federal government's 'Work Choices' legislation is constitutionally valid and as such, now stands as the framework for employment conditions across the country....

18/10/2006
A certain anarchy is beginning to creep into our website (this is excellent and will be encouraged) as we attempt to overwhelm our webmaster. What's on the way? We will release our DMI evidence collection tools after professional development (sigh of relief!), we have a live webcast next Monday (23rd), we are about to launch a really exciting new training program for some NOVA staff (details on the 7th) I am amassing a mob of volunteers for my disabilty employment in your language videos - this'll be pretty cool, NOVA's making heaps of placements and our retention rates for more than half of our offices remain over 85% Go NOVA!

15/10/2006
Updates to this site are a pretty constant event and if you have a look at the home page you'll see we've added our alternative language brochures and a link to the disability service standards in a number of alternative languages....

4/07/2006
I often get asked about the Training program we run and the courses on offer. If you want detail talk to our Training Manager, Anne Goyer (0298332511)....

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