School's out. What next?
The transition from school to work for young people with an intellectual disability can be hard. We tracked down two young men who are making their way in the world.
Corey Smithis busy setting new goals - when he's not working in the kitchen at the Australian Hotel in Murgon.
Corey will graduate from Murgon State High School this year and his early experience in the workforce has given him the confidence to start planning his future.
Corey got his start at the hotel with the support of Elaine Thompson, Disability Services Queensland Local Area Coordinator for Murgon, Wondai, Kilkivan and Cherbourg . Elaine works with many young people making the transition from school to working life.
Elaine and Corey started to look at work opportunities in August, after he returned from a week of work experience at the Nara Resort on the Gold Coast with a taste for the hospitality industry. After just one interview, he secured employment with the Australian Hotel.
Hotel manager Jillian Tiernan is pleased with Corey's progress and commends his work ethic, his value as a staff member and the mutual respect that has developed between Corey and other staff.
Corey is working on the weekends while he finishes Grade 12 and hopes to start a Certificate III in Hospitality at Kingaroy TAFE next year.
"I'm finishing school soon and now have new goals," Corey said.
"I'm being trained on the job and when I'm finished at TAFE, I can go and work at a resort at Airlie Beach ."
Local Area Coordination (LAC) is an approach to supporting people with a disability to participate in their local communities coordinated through Disability Services Queensland.
For information on employment options and support agencies available in your area or whether there is an LAC contact Disability Information Service on freecall 1800 177 120 or TTY freecall 1800 010 222.
For Darren Thompson, the best thing about working at Red Cross Business Services is the variety.
"I'm always using different machinery and learning new skills," Darren said.
"It's easy coming to work because I work with a great team and am always meeting new people."
Melissa Patterson from Australian Red Cross Disability Services said that the experience Darren has gained through three months with Business Services is also preparing him for an independent future.
"We provide skills-based training in a supported work environment - people develop into committed employees with new skills that are transferable to other workplaces."
"Each employee has an Assistance Plan developed every six months, which allows them to reassess their social and career goals and develop new skills in different areas."
Business Services operates in Brisbane and Gympie and provides opportunities for people to gain practical skills in packaging, mail preparation, general assembly and labelling.
In Gympie, Business Services also provides recycling services and ceramic work. For information, phone the Brisbane office on 3620 7000 and the Gympie office on 5482 2535.Last updated November 2007