A Leap for disability school leavers

YMCA South Australia has launched a new program aimed at providing school leavers living with a disability, access to training and support to enable transition into the open workforce.

Leap Discovery is a unique offering in the disability sector and YMCA Community Strengthening Manager, Marion Modra, said its development and launch will provide opportunities for individuals to develop pathways to work in open employment, in a way that has never been accessible before.

“Until now the only real employment direction for young school leavers with a disability has been in accredited supported employment (ADE), with less prospect for growth or exposure to the mainstream workforce. Leap Discovery provides an alternative to that,” she said.

“We have developed a program that will support building capacity of participants to achieve competency and certification in identified roles, empowering and encouraging participants to explore the open workforce, providing them with career opportunities and importantly, building self-esteem as individuals and community members.”

Ms Modra added that there are many paid positions available for people with disability that could be successfully attained providing the right training and support was available.

Leap Discovery can be accessed through NDIS Local Area Coordinators and has initially been launched in the Holdfast Bay and Fleurieu areas, with further growth across all communities supported by YMCA South Australia planned over the next 12 months.

Leap Discovery is newest addition to the organisation’s inclusive Leap Services programming suite and further details can be found here.