Transcript of the interview with Tim Hart

Disability Coordination Officer

My name is Tim Hart and I'm the Disability Coordination Officer for Northern, Central and Southern Sydney.

What do you find, in your years of experience, what the main challenges are faced by graduates when entering the work place?

Tim: Lack of experience, work experience, lack of comprehension of work culture, a lack of actual experience of having to work nine to five or whatever hours it is, without being able to take breaks whenever. Of course if you've got a disability that requires you to take breaks normally you can come to an accommodation with your employer, but essentially having to stick at something for any length of time is very unusual for any student.

You said that a lack of experience, a lack of 9 to 5 work etc. What do you think stops students from doing this?

Tim: Most students with disabilities, because of their disabilities, can't study at the normal pace of other students and it takes them longer to study. So most students with a disability will be studying at half the rate of other students, and yet they will be spending even longer in their preparation work and studying in general than other students. So they have less time for doing a casual job and getting additional income as well as getting all the skills that are required for employment. And the only way to get those really necessary skills is to have some form of job experience.

Do you have any further advice for UTS students who have disabilities?

Tim: There are a number of programs, like ?Willing and Able Mentoring’, where the student is paired with a person who works in the chosen career path of the student. Then the student is mentored by this person. It's a structured program so that the person learns various skills about what is required for employment in that field. Another way is to get involved in some of the work experience aspects of their degree. Depending on your degree there might be a component to have a work placement. Anything where you get exposure to the work place, spend time in work or volunteer work (it doesn't have to be paid). Volunteer work is a very good way of getting the additional skills. It's about skill development beyond your degree, you got your skills from your degree but you actually have to translate that into skills and abilities within the workplace. Studying writing essays, whilst it doesn't translate into writing reports, you've got to build experience, you've got to build your knowledge base. You actually got to have a very rigorous aspect, like responding to emails and so forth. It's a difficult transition, so the more experience you have of the work place and work environment in general, in whatever way, whether it is volunteer, ?Willing and Able Program’, there is always some program. Graduate programs in some of the public service organisations and departments are quite good too.

In your experience, how willing are employers to modify the workplace? (Whether that be in a physical sense or in adapting work hours etc.)

Tim: In some cases they are not, to be honest. In other cases they will go out of their way, it depends on their actual experience of disability and the financial restraints that organisation might have. So it’s a matter of disclosing your disability and negotiating the problems that you have and how they can be overcome. And that's where you need to have had some experience, of not just study but in the workplace to develop skills and strategies for overcoming your disability, what ever it is.

In my case, I have a learning disability so I use tools like ?Dragon Actually Speaking’ which is a text to speech program as well as a speech to text program (it goes both ways). So I can dictate emails or reports or anything and I can also have them played back to me. It's a useful thing for doing essay but it’s very useful in the workplace. Having the skill and experience with that software definitely helped with negotiating with my employer my use of that technology and the purchasing of that technology.

Can you give of any further advice to graduates with disabilities in applying for positions and the way they approach they application?

Tim: Preparation is very important. Spending time thinking about what could be asked about your disability, as well as your ability to do the job and your university studies is very important. Thinking about what you could be asked and what your response would be and thinking how your response will be evaluated by others is very important with a lot of things.

Can you give any further advice to graduates with disabilities for when they actually enter into the workplace?

Tim: Take it easy, concentrate on doing the job, develop new strategies, think about how you can work more smartly, don't let set backs upset you, just keep plotting along and be patient with your disability. Essentially just persevere with applying for jobs. I don't know any body, even in the current job market, who doesn't have a trouble getting a job. Some people, because of their disability, it takes them a lot longer but they shouldn't let that discourage them. They should look at ways of getting experience, volunteer work, keeping themselves occupied, getting involved and developing more skills while they are waiting for a paid job. One of the things that students with disabilities need to keep in mind is that they should be always looking for ways of improving later in life, not just immediately. And if there are programs that are going to be of benefit to your employment, you should take advantage of them as soon as possible, just get your name down on the waiting list.