November 14, 2024 • 16 mins
Penny Holmes-Brown is Service Area Manager from APM employment, the winner of this year's Link Vision Blind Australian of the year Employer of Choice Award.
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S1 (00:14):
On Vision Australia Radio. This is Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
S2 (00:23):
Electricians have been asked their Employer of Choice award and
its APM employment in Perth, and Penny Haynes-brown is on
the line. Penny, welcome and congratulations.
S3 (00:33):
Thank you so much. Thank you for inviting me on
your show.
S2 (00:36):
It's a pleasure. Now you're based in Perth. Obviously the
awards were in Brisbane. Did you make the long trek
across the country?
S3 (00:42):
Interestingly enough, because I have a team of people across
the country, I was actually working in the Hervey Bay
and Kingaroy region at the time of the event, so
I was able to get a hop from Hervey Bay
flight down to Brisbane, but I stayed in Brisbane for
Friday and Saturday night and it was wonderful to have
(01:05):
the opportunity to to be in Brisbane at the same time.
S2 (01:09):
Well, sometimes things are just meant to happen, aren't they? Absolutely, Penny.
We had a quick chat before coming to and you
said it was a total surprise. So. Well, that's obviously
sometimes the, the nicest things that when they're a surprise.
But how do you feel about something like this. Both
kind of as an organisation I guess, as a movement,
finding employment for people with disabilities.
S3 (01:28):
Yeah. So, um, we have different divisions of APM across
the globe, actually, and our division is APM community. So
we work as a partner with the NDIS. And so
my team work in community to work alongside of people
(01:50):
to make it more inclusive and accessible for people with disability.
And as Callum shared with me his nomination post the event,
and one of the things that he said is that,
employees have to walk the talk, and that he has
felt that working in a in APM has really provided
(02:13):
him opportunities. So it is a little bit about just
what we do here. And there's a degree of humility
around the work that we do in as much as
we feel very strongly as a human services organization, we
should be employing people for their capabilities. And so, um,
(02:35):
having that as part of our culture and our values is, just,
as I say, the way we do it here. So
when Callum had provided the nomination and I got the
call from Terry from Link Vision to say, congratulations, you're
a finalist, it was a fantastic surprise and a great
(02:57):
opportunity to then, I guess, identify where other finalists list were, um,
achieving inclusion, accessibility for people with sight impairment or low vision.
And we were amongst some really great finalists. And I
felt very humbled when we were announced as the winner.
(03:20):
I was I think I screamed. I actually think, I mean,
I'm sure it was on camera that I screamed, but.
S2 (03:26):
It meant a lot to you.
S3 (03:27):
Oh, so much, so much. As I say, it's what
we like to do here. But we work with people
with disability. We work with people with low or no vision,
and we know the challenges of securing employment for them, um,
either through the NDIS or through the Disability Employment services
(03:49):
or through open employment. And we have such valuable people
with such great skill sets and they've been given opportunities, um,
with us and also in environments that we've helped work
with them to secure us. Opportunities. And you couldn't get
(04:10):
a more capable and committed team of people who. Are
working really, really hard. And, you know, we really valued that.
We really value. I guess the the award itself, because
it means that we're doing something right. Just a bit.
S2 (04:27):
About how you work. Then you kind of touched on
the the way that you. Work or your kind of model,
if I can put it that way. Do you want
to expand a bit on.
S3 (04:34):
That first of all, when we recruit for people with
when we recruit for roles. Sorry. We make sure that
our recruitment practices are inclusive. So where there may be
adjustments required or there may be, um, something like an
informational interview. So if somebody isn't able to work Through
(05:01):
a team's platform or zoom platform, they may feel that
the environment may not be suitable for them. We will
bring them into the environment, first of all, so that
then they are able to identify if it is an
environment that they want to work in. So the interview
process is inclusive, and of course we want to make
(05:25):
our jobs attractive for job seekers with disability, people with disabilities.
So we make sure that we include in the ad
that we're inviting people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities.
And then, most importantly, is making sure that the roles
match the skills of a person. And we are open
(05:47):
to creating opportunities for people with a disability that we
can tailor something towards somebody's skill set. And I think
that's really key. When you have people who have very
strong skills and maybe in a particular area. He's actually
recognizing that and knowing how they will be able to
(06:11):
achieve a sustainable and meaningful job that they feel they're
contributing to, and that we are maximizing the benefits of
those skills.
S2 (06:22):
Such important words. Aren't they sustainable? And, um, uh, what
was the other word you use? Sorry.
S4 (06:28):
Benefit. I mean, they're.
S2 (06:30):
So important that that those words.
S3 (06:32):
They are so important. Peter. And, you know, there are
employers who think that it is a, um, a nice
thing to do to employ people with disabilities. They don't
really see the opportunities that people with disability bring in
their own skill sets, and that has to be meaningful.
(06:54):
We have, um, examples of people who have come through
what we call a customized employment program, where there are
people who have specific skill sets, who have a disability
and are only able to do a certain portion of
a role. But that portion of that role is really
(07:15):
important to them, and it's something that they really look
forward to doing and that they want to do. And
it isn't just about providing an opportunity and saying, well,
you have a disability. You should be grateful that we're
giving you this opportunity. It's actually making sure that then, um,
first of all, that we're using their skill sets, but
(07:37):
then that we're building on their capability. So when Callum
came to us, he's an incredibly Callum Callum Healey, who
was blind Australian of the year in 2022. Yeah. Um
he started with us um uh, in 19 2019, 19, 2020.
(07:58):
Incredibly capable, um came because of the role and grew
in his abilities. Um, so we made sure that we
were giving him opportunities like training programs, leadership development programs,
workplace adjustments, all of those things, and even an Uber
(08:19):
account to make sure he could get to community events.
And he left us in 2021 to progress his professional career.
And we have been very fortunate. We sought him out
and brought him back in a more senior leadership role.
And he, you know, we're so glad that he's back.
But he's phenomenal. He's contributing phenomenally. And, um, so it
(08:44):
is that that level of meaning in a role for
him and also that, you know, we we are continuously
supporting our people with disability to grow in their capabilities,
the same as everyone else.
S2 (09:00):
You talked about the skill set. What about the kind
of innate things, if I can call them that? Things
like the loyalty, things like I haven't had much of
a chance in the past. I've been given this chance
by jingo. So I'm not going to let go of
this in any hurry or pass it up. Those sort of,
as I say, they're sort of innate things that are,
I guess, the qualities that a person might have, not
necessarily a skill set in the traditional sense of the word.
S3 (09:22):
Oh, most definitely. We have found that, um, so, uh,
as an example, and I'm sure she won't mind me
mentioning her name, Aisha, who was a finalist in last
year's I can't remember.
S2 (09:36):
Yeah, I remember it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
S3 (09:38):
So, um, Aisha has got an incredible amount of tenacity.
She can be very, um, passionate and very focused on
making a difference in community. Um, she is legally blind. However,
her passion has shown itself in event management and she
(10:03):
actually did a course in event management and she couldn't
get a position in event management because of a misunderstanding
of what her capabilities are. And so not only has
she joined us with some fantastic skill sets in community engagement,
(10:24):
and she has worked very closely with the local government, um, uh,
organization and city manager who won the most accessible, um,
LGA in WA, I think, last year. But it was
her tenacity and her her passion. She is so incredibly loyal. Um,
(10:45):
she is, um, a advocate for working with us and
for work in general. And she brings, um, a certain
quality of for us that is about, um, I guess,
seeing all, all abilities as bringing so much value to
(11:09):
your organization. Um, yeah, we, we have, we have quite
a few people working with us, um, under the same
banner and, uh, yeah, I think, you know, we've got
skill set, we've got good people for life, um, who
also bring those skill sets as well.
S2 (11:26):
Tell us a bit about the evening, Penny. Uh, obviously
some people like, uh, Reggie Sorensen was there a couple
of times winner of Big Brother? That would have been
a bit of a hoot. We spoke to Reggie leading
up to the event. She's certainly a character.
S3 (11:40):
Oh my goodness. Well, you see, I'm I have never
really watched much reality TV. So when I walked up
on the red carpet and was introduced to Reggie, Everyone
else had kind of moved on, and I instantly fell
in love with Reggie. I thought she was my new
(12:01):
best friend forever and ever. And yeah, I had no idea.
But what a pocket rocket. She's just a sensational human being. But,
I mean, it was such a memorable event for me
because I was networking with people from the vision impaired community. Um. Ah,
but I was sat in the same table as the
finalists for the Blind Australian of the year award. Um, Courtney,
(12:25):
Janelle and Matt. And just hearing about the achievements, um,
their achievements that got them to be nominated for the
awards was just delightful. And Courtney was such a worthy winner.
And being at such a young person, um, having very mature, um, outlook,
(12:49):
she was very articulate. She didn't have a speech prepared.
But she was so inclusive in her speech. She was wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful. They were all great people and very fortunately,
because we won the employer of choice, I got to
speak to quite a lot of people afterwards who felt
(13:11):
very strongly that things needed to be done, or people
were looking for jobs with IBM. That was great too.
S4 (13:19):
Yeah.
S2 (13:19):
For sure. And I mean, are you hopeful about the future?
I mean, I'm always kind of intrigued when you hear
the unemployment numbers or the labor force figures, as I
like to call them, you know, unemployment at 4% or 4.2%,
you know, virtually full employment, employers calling out for staff.
And then, you know, the amount of people that we
speak to or hear of that are have a disability
(13:39):
and can't find work even though they're qualified. Are you
kind of hopeful that, you know, things can improve, will improve?
I guess with organizations like yours, they will. They are.
S3 (13:48):
So I would love to say Absolutely. But I think
there's there's a lot of work to be done. There
has been is definitely some greater awareness with employers about
more inclusive practices in employment. And I think I think
(14:08):
what we have to do is continue to raise the
awareness and shout out successes of organizations who are doing
inclusive hiring practices or providing better support or accommodation or just,
you know, fostering that culture of inclusivity and inclusion, but
(14:30):
more importantly, shouting out the success of individuals working in
meaningful and sustainable roles and making sure they're part of
the conversation, making sure that they're part of co-design, that
they are, um, yeah, raising the voice of of people either,
you know, with, with, um, low or no vision or
(14:54):
from the disability community, because without those people being empowered
to have a voice, then we we have nothing. We
just have employers looking at each other going, oh, we're
not sure what to do, so we'll do nothing. We
actually have to continue to shout out the successes of
those organizations that are doing well.
S2 (15:16):
Penny, you keep shouting. Congratulations! Enjoy the moment. A very
deserved winner. Thank you for speaking to us.
S3 (15:22):
Absolutely delightful. Thank you so much for your time, Peter.
S2 (15:25):
That's Penny Brown there from Oakham. Employment over there in Perth,
this year's link vision employer of choice award winner.
S5 (15:35):
Thank you for listening to Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
You can find this interview on the Focal Point Podcast.
This show was produced in the Adelaide studios of Vision
Australia Radio.
On Vision Australia Radio. This is Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
S2 (00:23):
Electricians have been asked their Employer of Choice award and
its APM employment in Perth, and Penny Haynes-brown is on
the line. Penny, welcome and congratulations.
S3 (00:33):
Thank you so much. Thank you for inviting me on
your show.
S2 (00:36):
It's a pleasure. Now you're based in Perth. Obviously the
awards were in Brisbane. Did you make the long trek
across the country?
S3 (00:42):
Interestingly enough, because I have a team of people across
the country, I was actually working in the Hervey Bay
and Kingaroy region at the time of the event, so
I was able to get a hop from Hervey Bay
flight down to Brisbane, but I stayed in Brisbane for
Friday and Saturday night and it was wonderful to have
(01:05):
the opportunity to to be in Brisbane at the same time.
S2 (01:09):
Well, sometimes things are just meant to happen, aren't they? Absolutely, Penny.
We had a quick chat before coming to and you
said it was a total surprise. So. Well, that's obviously
sometimes the, the nicest things that when they're a surprise.
But how do you feel about something like this. Both
kind of as an organisation I guess, as a movement,
finding employment for people with disabilities.
S3 (01:28):
Yeah. So, um, we have different divisions of APM across
the globe, actually, and our division is APM community. So
we work as a partner with the NDIS. And so
my team work in community to work alongside of people
(01:50):
to make it more inclusive and accessible for people with disability.
And as Callum shared with me his nomination post the event,
and one of the things that he said is that,
employees have to walk the talk, and that he has
felt that working in a in APM has really provided
(02:13):
him opportunities. So it is a little bit about just
what we do here. And there's a degree of humility
around the work that we do in as much as
we feel very strongly as a human services organization, we
should be employing people for their capabilities. And so, um,
(02:35):
having that as part of our culture and our values is, just,
as I say, the way we do it here. So
when Callum had provided the nomination and I got the
call from Terry from Link Vision to say, congratulations, you're
a finalist, it was a fantastic surprise and a great
(02:57):
opportunity to then, I guess, identify where other finalists list were, um,
achieving inclusion, accessibility for people with sight impairment or low vision.
And we were amongst some really great finalists. And I
felt very humbled when we were announced as the winner.
(03:20):
I was I think I screamed. I actually think, I mean,
I'm sure it was on camera that I screamed, but.
S2 (03:26):
It meant a lot to you.
S3 (03:27):
Oh, so much, so much. As I say, it's what
we like to do here. But we work with people
with disability. We work with people with low or no vision,
and we know the challenges of securing employment for them, um,
either through the NDIS or through the Disability Employment services
(03:49):
or through open employment. And we have such valuable people
with such great skill sets and they've been given opportunities, um,
with us and also in environments that we've helped work
with them to secure us. Opportunities. And you couldn't get
(04:10):
a more capable and committed team of people who. Are
working really, really hard. And, you know, we really valued that.
We really value. I guess the the award itself, because
it means that we're doing something right. Just a bit.
S2 (04:27):
About how you work. Then you kind of touched on
the the way that you. Work or your kind of model,
if I can put it that way. Do you want
to expand a bit on.
S3 (04:34):
That first of all, when we recruit for people with
when we recruit for roles. Sorry. We make sure that
our recruitment practices are inclusive. So where there may be
adjustments required or there may be, um, something like an
informational interview. So if somebody isn't able to work Through
(05:01):
a team's platform or zoom platform, they may feel that
the environment may not be suitable for them. We will
bring them into the environment, first of all, so that
then they are able to identify if it is an
environment that they want to work in. So the interview
process is inclusive, and of course we want to make
(05:25):
our jobs attractive for job seekers with disability, people with disabilities.
So we make sure that we include in the ad
that we're inviting people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities.
And then, most importantly, is making sure that the roles
match the skills of a person. And we are open
(05:47):
to creating opportunities for people with a disability that we
can tailor something towards somebody's skill set. And I think
that's really key. When you have people who have very
strong skills and maybe in a particular area. He's actually
recognizing that and knowing how they will be able to
(06:11):
achieve a sustainable and meaningful job that they feel they're
contributing to, and that we are maximizing the benefits of
those skills.
S2 (06:22):
Such important words. Aren't they sustainable? And, um, uh, what
was the other word you use? Sorry.
S4 (06:28):
Benefit. I mean, they're.
S2 (06:30):
So important that that those words.
S3 (06:32):
They are so important. Peter. And, you know, there are
employers who think that it is a, um, a nice
thing to do to employ people with disabilities. They don't
really see the opportunities that people with disability bring in
their own skill sets, and that has to be meaningful.
(06:54):
We have, um, examples of people who have come through
what we call a customized employment program, where there are
people who have specific skill sets, who have a disability
and are only able to do a certain portion of
a role. But that portion of that role is really
(07:15):
important to them, and it's something that they really look
forward to doing and that they want to do. And
it isn't just about providing an opportunity and saying, well,
you have a disability. You should be grateful that we're
giving you this opportunity. It's actually making sure that then, um,
first of all, that we're using their skill sets, but
(07:37):
then that we're building on their capability. So when Callum
came to us, he's an incredibly Callum Callum Healey, who
was blind Australian of the year in 2022. Yeah. Um
he started with us um uh, in 19 2019, 19, 2020.
(07:58):
Incredibly capable, um came because of the role and grew
in his abilities. Um, so we made sure that we
were giving him opportunities like training programs, leadership development programs,
workplace adjustments, all of those things, and even an Uber
(08:19):
account to make sure he could get to community events.
And he left us in 2021 to progress his professional career.
And we have been very fortunate. We sought him out
and brought him back in a more senior leadership role.
And he, you know, we're so glad that he's back.
But he's phenomenal. He's contributing phenomenally. And, um, so it
(08:44):
is that that level of meaning in a role for
him and also that, you know, we we are continuously
supporting our people with disability to grow in their capabilities,
the same as everyone else.
S2 (09:00):
You talked about the skill set. What about the kind
of innate things, if I can call them that? Things
like the loyalty, things like I haven't had much of
a chance in the past. I've been given this chance
by jingo. So I'm not going to let go of
this in any hurry or pass it up. Those sort of,
as I say, they're sort of innate things that are,
I guess, the qualities that a person might have, not
necessarily a skill set in the traditional sense of the word.
S3 (09:22):
Oh, most definitely. We have found that, um, so, uh,
as an example, and I'm sure she won't mind me
mentioning her name, Aisha, who was a finalist in last
year's I can't remember.
S2 (09:36):
Yeah, I remember it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
S3 (09:38):
So, um, Aisha has got an incredible amount of tenacity.
She can be very, um, passionate and very focused on
making a difference in community. Um, she is legally blind. However,
her passion has shown itself in event management and she
(10:03):
actually did a course in event management and she couldn't
get a position in event management because of a misunderstanding
of what her capabilities are. And so not only has
she joined us with some fantastic skill sets in community engagement,
(10:24):
and she has worked very closely with the local government, um, uh,
organization and city manager who won the most accessible, um,
LGA in WA, I think, last year. But it was
her tenacity and her her passion. She is so incredibly loyal. Um,
(10:45):
she is, um, a advocate for working with us and
for work in general. And she brings, um, a certain
quality of for us that is about, um, I guess,
seeing all, all abilities as bringing so much value to
(11:09):
your organization. Um, yeah, we, we have, we have quite
a few people working with us, um, under the same
banner and, uh, yeah, I think, you know, we've got
skill set, we've got good people for life, um, who
also bring those skill sets as well.
S2 (11:26):
Tell us a bit about the evening, Penny. Uh, obviously
some people like, uh, Reggie Sorensen was there a couple
of times winner of Big Brother? That would have been
a bit of a hoot. We spoke to Reggie leading
up to the event. She's certainly a character.
S3 (11:40):
Oh my goodness. Well, you see, I'm I have never
really watched much reality TV. So when I walked up
on the red carpet and was introduced to Reggie, Everyone
else had kind of moved on, and I instantly fell
in love with Reggie. I thought she was my new
(12:01):
best friend forever and ever. And yeah, I had no idea.
But what a pocket rocket. She's just a sensational human being. But,
I mean, it was such a memorable event for me
because I was networking with people from the vision impaired community. Um. Ah,
but I was sat in the same table as the
finalists for the Blind Australian of the year award. Um, Courtney,
(12:25):
Janelle and Matt. And just hearing about the achievements, um,
their achievements that got them to be nominated for the
awards was just delightful. And Courtney was such a worthy winner.
And being at such a young person, um, having very mature, um, outlook,
(12:49):
she was very articulate. She didn't have a speech prepared.
But she was so inclusive in her speech. She was wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful. They were all great people and very fortunately,
because we won the employer of choice, I got to
speak to quite a lot of people afterwards who felt
(13:11):
very strongly that things needed to be done, or people
were looking for jobs with IBM. That was great too.
S4 (13:19):
Yeah.
S2 (13:19):
For sure. And I mean, are you hopeful about the future?
I mean, I'm always kind of intrigued when you hear
the unemployment numbers or the labor force figures, as I
like to call them, you know, unemployment at 4% or 4.2%,
you know, virtually full employment, employers calling out for staff.
And then, you know, the amount of people that we
speak to or hear of that are have a disability
(13:39):
and can't find work even though they're qualified. Are you
kind of hopeful that, you know, things can improve, will improve?
I guess with organizations like yours, they will. They are.
S3 (13:48):
So I would love to say Absolutely. But I think
there's there's a lot of work to be done. There
has been is definitely some greater awareness with employers about
more inclusive practices in employment. And I think I think
(14:08):
what we have to do is continue to raise the
awareness and shout out successes of organizations who are doing
inclusive hiring practices or providing better support or accommodation or just,
you know, fostering that culture of inclusivity and inclusion, but
(14:30):
more importantly, shouting out the success of individuals working in
meaningful and sustainable roles and making sure they're part of
the conversation, making sure that they're part of co-design, that
they are, um, yeah, raising the voice of of people either,
you know, with, with, um, low or no vision or
(14:54):
from the disability community, because without those people being empowered
to have a voice, then we we have nothing. We
just have employers looking at each other going, oh, we're
not sure what to do, so we'll do nothing. We
actually have to continue to shout out the successes of
those organizations that are doing well.
S2 (15:16):
Penny, you keep shouting. Congratulations! Enjoy the moment. A very
deserved winner. Thank you for speaking to us.
S3 (15:22):
Absolutely delightful. Thank you so much for your time, Peter.
S2 (15:25):
That's Penny Brown there from Oakham. Employment over there in Perth,
this year's link vision employer of choice award winner.
S5 (15:35):
Thank you for listening to Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
You can find this interview on the Focal Point Podcast.
This show was produced in the Adelaide studios of Vision
Australia Radio.
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