Workbridge launches jobs portal

Jobseekers with disabilities have a new job-search tool to help them find work, in a market that is crying out for skilled labour.

Disability employment organisation Workbridge launched an online jobs portal yesterday, the International Day for Disabled People.

There are an estimated 1.1 million people with disabilities in New Zealand, and they face an ‘‘employment crisis’’, Workbridge chief executive Jonathan Mosen has said previously.

Only 42 per cent of working-age disabled people were in work in the three months to the end of June, compared with 79 per cent of nondisabled people, according to Stats NZ.

The My Workbridge website gave Workbridge jobseekers access to roles not advertised elsewhere, tools to help them build CVs and prepare for interviews, and information about how accessible an employer was for disabled people, Mosen said yesterday.

‘‘We are essentially acting as a screening process, because when a job goes into the My Workbridge portal, it’s been put there from an employer who we’ve been working with. That means that you can, as a disabled person, expect some degree of disability confidence with that employer, and so it means you’re more likely to be viewed favourably and judged on your merits, rather than perhaps misjudged based on perceptions of disability,’’ he said.

Challenges with standard job sites included lack of accessibility for people using some assistive technology, and lack of information for disabled people who had unique requirements, Mosen said.

‘‘If for example you use a wheelchair, you might like to know how accessible is the building that I’m going into with this job; is it even worth me applying if it’s difficult for me to get in? How noisy is it if I have a hearing impairment? The regular job sites aren’t going to go into that kind of detail because they’re targeted at a mainstream audience.’’

Workbridge recently launched another website, justsayyes.co.nz, offering support and training for employers who wanted to make their workplaces more accessible for people with disabilities.

‘‘One of the reasons we invested money and time into spinning out that new brand is that we feel like there’s a hunger out there,’’ Mosen said. ‘‘People know they have to do better ... So we’re trying to be a constructive part of the solution and offer that service to employers, to help them understand how.’’

The jobseeker portal was free for jobseekers and employers.

Workbridge was funded by the Ministry of Social Development for that work.