Civic partnered with the Ian Potter Foundation over three years to prepare the Civic Crew model for scale. At the beginning, Civic Crew was a concept for a new employment program for adults with disability.
The proposal included training small teams of individuals (Civic Crews) to work within businesses and organisations in the community while providing the appropriate support for both Civic Crew employees and our partner employers, known as Hosts.
People with disability often find themselves excluded from mainstream workplaces with just over 50% of working-age people with disability in work. Employers also report difficulties and inexperience with hiring and adequately adjusting the workplace, or supporting people with disability. A key part of the Civic Crew model was to develop a Business to Business (B2B) training and capability model for Host businesses to increase their skills and ability to support all people with disability in their workplace.
What started as a concept has seen Civic now evolve the entire supported employment offering. All supported employees are provided opportunities to be involved in Civic Crew and new opportunities to work in Community Based Workplaces with Host businesses. Over the past three years, as part of the grant funding, Civic has been able to grow the volume and variety of opportunities on offer. These opportunities include:
- Event hosting
- Catering
- Warehousing
- Lawn maintenance
- Administration
- Housekeeping
Civic is looking to increase the range of Host businesses we partner with to deliver mutual benefit to both organisations. Civic requires a commitment to inclusive employment and a willingness to undertake capacity building as part of the partnership.
Civic is grateful for the long-term support received from the Ian Potter Foundation, including the flexibility and support during Covid-19. The flexibility provided by the Foundation allowed Civic to continue to offer support and social connection throughout lockdowns and workplace closures.
To discuss opportunities to partner with Civic, or to enquire about Supported Employment, contact us on:
Phone: 1300 692 484 (1300 MYCIVIC)
Email: enquiries@civic.org.au
December 2023
