When The CaPTA Group was seeking dancers to join their Pamagirri Aboriginal dance troupe, they hadn’t considered employing someone who faced barriers to employment, until they met Trudy. Trudy Nagle represented Tourism Taster at the Cairns RJC’s Tourism & Hospitality Careers Expo, where CaPTA was also exhibiting. At that time, CaPTA was looking for job seekers to join their team and Trudy had two Aboriginal job seekers looking for work.
Some of the barriers to employment that the dancers faced included a hearing impairment and lack of personal transportation. Neither dancer has a driver licence and there is a lack of public transport in the area, so Nathaniel and Leslie required assistance with their daily commute to and from work.
The location of Rainforestation Nature Park at the top of Kuranda range makes the commute even more difficult. However, a number of years ago, the company overcame this obstacle by providing daily company shuttle bus to and from Rainforestation.
While confident the dancers could use vibration and vision to learn the dance sequences, CaPTA identified potential challenges in communicating with other dancers as well as their employer, which could present further obstacles in the workplace. CaPTA engaged with a disability employment provider, Mylestones, to prevent this potential barrier.
Initially, communication was facilitated through support persons and interpreters, but co-workers took a keen interest in learning to communicate with the dancers directly. Some employees are now learning sign language, and Myletones are planning on helping with lessons and support, so the overall communication is more effective, and Leslie and Nathaniel feel more included.
CaPTA Group People and Culture Officer Joel Wale stated that the performers’ passion for their work had been inspiring, and they appreciate their dedication to their craft.
“This dedication prompted us to reconsider how we accommodate and support all employees with disabilities. Understanding challenges such as how to effectively communicate, the need for transportation, and teaching our audiences how to show appreciation to the dancers have been some of the changes to our practices and protocol as a result of employing Nathaniel and Leslie.
“The positive impact of their work has inspired us to consider potentially expanding their roles in the future”, said Joel.
“We may look at other options like assisting in the creation indigenous art pieces and for the dancers to assist at events. We now actively involve them in accommodating guests with hearing impairments and facilitating presentations, further demonstrating our commitment to achieving a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
“Growing our own workforce and building socially aware, diverse and inclusive workplaces not only addresses skills shortages but embraces difference and creates a culture where everyone is welcome and feels welcome. We have a range of people living in our community who face challenges and barriers to employment”, Joel concluded.
To tackle the ongoing skills shortages in TNQ, the Cairns Regional Jobs Committee is calling on local businesses to focus on embracing inclusivity and diversity. First Nations people, those with a disability or neurodiversity, migrants, refugees, single parents, stay at home mums wanting to get back into the workforce, those who have faced addictions, who have been incarcerated, had a long-term illness or injury and many more underrepresented people want and need you to take another look when recruiting. How could you alter your practices or protocols in your business or industry to grow your future workforce? What transferrable skills could these disadvantaged job seekers have that you could utilise in your business?