500

Thursday, May 07, 2009
Presently suffering from a combination of bird and swine flu with a side order of SARS (well, that's what it feels like) I am able to both plot, scheme and play. While playing I noticed that an average of 500 people visit this site each day - don't you just love Google analytics? I make the assumption that each of you shares an interest in the employment prospects and challenges faced by people who have a disability.
If that is the case than you are right in the middle of a very exciting time. The economy we are told is in slow decline and this is likely to be problematic for employment prospects for every Australian, not just those who face additional barriers. The next piece of information is therefore possibly going to come as a surprise - we are going 'gangbusters'! So far this year NOVA staff have assisted 160 people to start work. If that doesn't sound like many to you I want you to read it again, this time in the knowledge that last year, during a major economic boom, we managed about 350 people for the year!
How and why is this so? (Do you miss Professor Sumner Miller?)
There are a few reasons that spring to mind. First, a determined person is hard to stop. Our job seekers are very keen to participate as taxpayers - they want to work and are keen to be given an opportunity - that overcomes many barriers.
Next; NOVA has a highly skilled team of employment consultants and these days a very stable workforce. We experienced some growing pains a coupe of years ago, moving from less than 40 staff to well over a hundred. It wasn't that long ago that we recruited 20 new workers and during their training identified a need for 20 more! However, while we are still in growth and likely to continue to recruit during 2009, as a percentage of total staff, our needs are back in control. The present team have stability and our training programs are building and developing their skill base.
Third would be our employers. NOVA's experience is that business owners and managers are open to new ideas (and the concept of employment for people who have a disability is still fairly new) and ready to hear about how such individuals can add to their bottom line. The facts are that a person with a disability can make just as much profit as a person without and often bring significant additional benefits for employers. So working with NOVA staff who have access to more than 1300 motivated job seekers is a sound business decision. I know this 'hey, they'll make you a quid' thing might seem like a 'no-brainer' but there are still a lot of stereotypes and misunderstanding about disability and our experience is that we play best with modern progressive businesses and managers who have an open mind.
Finally, community awareness. For the past year or so NOVA has worked hard at promoting the overall concept of disability employment and I think we have helped not just NOVA job seekers but the community of persons with disability as a whole. Our radio advertising, newspaper projects, mail-outs, the focusonability video competition, pie-bag promo, bus advertising and general promotion of what our job seekers can achieve has significantly raised the level of awareness.
Those things are reflected in the number of new visitors we receive each day.
If that's you, we would love to hear from you; your ideas, your criticism, your experience and knowledge add to our ability to serve our clients. Both on this page and throughout NOVA's website you'll find ways to get in touch either through this blog, via email or phone - don't be shy, we need your help.

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NDIS
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Countdown!

A great week

First week back (2012)

Class Acts

Why?

Last words for this year

Clean Fridge!

Best Present Yet

Disability Employment Services

Transition to Work

Over it and 'moving forward'!

Motherless last - to our shame!

November EZine

Bouquets

Great News

Save Time, Save Money - The Facts

The cost of unemployment

Quick Case Study

Are you getting what you need?

Broken Hill II

Lost Cause?

Broken Hill

Where's the work?

Real Stars

In love

Senate Inquiry II

Secret

Magnificent Result!

Senate Inquiry

Apprenticeships and Traineeships

Thank you

Apprentice +

Betcha!

Spare Change?

Meaningful Employment

Caringbah Champions

On to the Senate!

Port Macquarie Gala

MC Wheels

Focusonability III

Live from Rockdale

Focusonability Film Comp

Port Macquarie Gala

NOVA's Caringbah Champions

2UE

Star Ratings

Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome

Bad - not Mad

National Disability Strategy

Brilliant!!

Great to be back!

Time Off

Genuine Social Inclusion

Focus on Employability

Rushing toward the past?

Plain Paper Smoking

Passing of a champion.

World's greatest

Star Ratings

Apology

Proverbs 27:2

How's the Economy?

Sheltered Workshops - are we stuck with them?

Kick the weak and vulnerable

Inspirational!

Social Media

Queensland II

Queensland Flooding

Call to Action

Great Start!

Let's do it!

Last Post!

Last week for 2010

Yellow Pages plus

Less Tax and more...

Back to Work

International Day for People with Disability

Check this out!

Don Lillyman

A Tragic Loss

Really Exciting Times

Perfectly Dreadful

Wage subsidy

Focusonability II Awards

20 years

Focusonability

Hung Parliament - Good for PWD?

Focusonability

Social Firms, Sheltered Workshops or Supported Employment

Nonsense

Career and Recovery for People with Psychiatric Disability

Focusonability II

Thieves

August Poll

Hobby Time

Dale Di Leo

Focusonability - Fascinating!

Focusonability Latest

Focusonability

World Cup II

Brilliant - simply brilliant!

Oh Dear!

Supported Employment

Sunday 4th July

Monday 28th June

Yes!

Mental Health in the Workplace

Game to be won

Focusonability II

What would you do?

Blog Happy

Saturday, January 01, 2000

Tempus Fugit

Pay Attention Martin

Recovery

Disaster Strikes!

Hiring and Information Sessions

Join the team!

A sad week at NOVA

Dig deep

Utterly wrong - ecstatically happy!

Home Again

The Today Show

Conquest of America

Staff Hiring

Cheers Phil

Apples with Apples

Holidays and 2010

Focus on Ability 2

McDonald's Goes Green

Banks (again!)

Holiday(s)

2009

What a weekend!

Champions

Weekend away!

Can do!

Time Flies

What a Great Week

Winners!

A NEW TEAM MEMBER

NOVA and WRAP

Party Political Broadcast

4 Corners

More Awards

Macarthur Business Awards

Sign of the times.

New Staff Member

Read This

Best News Ever

How to rort the Star Ratings

No surrender!

Jo-Blogs

Organisation

Busy Week

Mark Arbib

CareFlight

Exciting times

Geography and me

Beautiful

Social Inclusion

Focusonability

Neither sarcasm nor irony

Focusonability

Back to the future

Broken Hill

June 4th

Sincerest form

Today's mail

The Employment Services Market

Transition to Work

ABC

Banks

Vision

YouTube et al

500

April Induction

Acronyms

Secret Weapon!

Jian dao ni hen gao xing!

Californians

GFC and More

I've been good.

Welcome

Sneak Peek

Not Today!

Fair?

Tally Ho!

Obscenity!

Victorian Bushfire Appeal

Proud of who we are

This week

Goodness!

Friday, October 02, 2009

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Thursday, January 29, 2009

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

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500

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