Objective 1: Disabled people and people with health conditions steer their own futures

• How important are the proposed actions – do you think they will make a difference?
• Is there is anything important missing?
• Is there anything that should be changed or removed?

Action area 1.1

Successful transitions for disabled school-leavers

1. Promote the School Leavers Toolkit to disabled students.
2. Test new ways to help school students get work experience, and to help them to get into further education, training and/or employment.
3. Provide young disabled people with access to employment services while they are in school to help them get work experience.
4. Give young disabled people work preparation assistance that provides them with life-skill training and work experience to show what it is like to work in an actual job.
5. Provide career development support to young disabled people to help them make decisions about future education, training and employment.

Action area 1.2

Enable people to choose career pathways with knowledge and confidence

1. Provide important careers information and support to students, jobseekers, and employers.
2. Allow people on Supported Living Payment to keep their eligibility for the benefit for longer than 26 weeks when they work for more than 15 hours a week in open employment.
3. Expand paid internships to help disabled people and people with health conditions transition from tertiary education and training.
4. Allow more disabled people and people with health conditions to benefit from career transition initiatives such as apprenticeships, and:
5. Mana in Mahi: a wage subsidy to employers who are willing to hire a person getting a main benefit and offer that person industry training experience, including apprenticeships.
6. He Poutama Rangatahi: a programme to support youth (aged 15-24) in some areas who are not in employment, education or training, and get them into work.
7. Te Ara Mahi: provides employment and skills pathways for working people in some areas
8. The Youth Service: a programme for people receiving the Youth Payment. The programme helps people to get NCEA Level 2 or higher qualifications, and to also improve their life skills.
9. Establish a State sector internship programme.
10. Develop employment support options under Mana Whaikaha: the disability support system that provides disabled people with more flexible support options to improve outcomes.

Action area 1.3

Provide tools to help people self-direct and navigate their career pathways

1. Develop platforms to help match employers and Ministry of Social Development clients to jobs.
2. Provide accessible information about assistance available to people looking for work.
3. Create short online training modules for jobseekers to help them up-skill.
4. Ensure relevant government websites, such as careers.govt.nz, are accessible.
5. Develop re-training options for people who have acquired disability or health issues that have impacted their jobs.
6. Join-up information and advice about job matching, support options, career pathways and training, and make these available to disabled people and people with health conditions.
7. Provide disabled people and people with health conditions with career planning advice through mentoring and peer support.