{"id":3665,"date":"2025-10-21T17:26:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T06:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/annual-report-2024-25\/inclusive-practices-project-2\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T13:25:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T02:25:45","slug":"employment-connections-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/annual-report-2024-25\/employment-connections-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Employment Connections Project\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Supporting people with Down syndrome into open employment <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Finding meaningful employment can be challenging for people with Down syndrome. The Employment Connections Project helps change that. Down Syndrome Australia (DSA) works with people with Down syndrome, employers and workplaces to create opportunities, provide guidance and ensure long-term success in open employment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Overview<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our Employment Connection Service is delivered locally by state and territory organisations across QLD, VIC, ACT, TAS, SA, WA and NSW. The service connects employers with people with Down syndrome and provides tailored guidance on recruitment, training, and ongoing support.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses also receive advice on inclusive practices, customised employment, job carving and developing accessible Easy Read resources. By supporting both the employee and the workplace, the project ensures long-term success for everyone involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Project goals<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  • Connect employers with people with Down syndrome and showcase successful employment examples. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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    • Provide education and guidance for employers on inclusive employment. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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      • Develop accessible resources for workplaces. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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        • Facilitate connections to open employment for people with Down syndrome. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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          • Employ people with Down syndrome as Ambassadors to contribute across the project. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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            • Expand the service to rural and remote areas, school leavers, ADE transitions and new regions including South Australia and the Northern Territory. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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              • Explore pathways for financial sustainability to continue delivering the service. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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                How the project works<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

                A key part of the service is building strong relationships around each person with Down syndrome. Families, supervisors and co-workers provide natural supports, while formal supports are available when needed. Each placement is tailored to the individual and the employer to ensure long-term success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                2024\u201325 Highlights<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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                • 104 people with Down syndrome<\/strong><\/mark> placed into open employment to date, including through expanded geographic reach. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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                  • 12 Ambassadors<\/strong><\/mark> employed, contributing 105 paid hours nationally and helping develop project materials, presentations, networking events and speaking engagements. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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                    • 210 face-to-face meetings<\/strong><\/mark> with employers and 93 meetings with job seekers to create meaningful employment connections. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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                      • 220 families supported<\/strong><\/mark> with guidance and information about employment opportunities. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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                        • Right to Work website engagement: 37,747 page views<\/strong><\/mark> since launch, with the most visited pages being Support our Campaign<\/em> (16,894) and Right to Work<\/em> (8,072). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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                          Voices from the project<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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                          \u201cI feel more in control of my finances now because I can choose what to spend my money on. This will help me with budgeting and saving for things I really like.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          – JOSH<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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                          \u201cJosh and I can\u2019t thank the Employment Connections program and Alison enough! This has honestly been a dream come true for both of us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          – JOSH’S MUM<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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                          \u201cBeing an Ambassador is a dream come true, I have spoken at the World Congress and I have travelled to VALID.  I love helping people and I love to help people get a job they love.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          – JERRY<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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                          Next steps<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

                          The project continues to grow, extending services to new regions and industries. Recruitment, training and ambassador programs remain ongoing, ensuring more people with Down syndrome can access meaningful employment and workplaces have the support they need to succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                          This program is funded by the Federal Government under the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program and by other generous donors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                          <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                          Supporting people with Down syndrome into open employment  Finding meaningful employment can be challenging for people with Down syndrome. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3672,"parent":3518,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"17453,20810,31780,29776,10955,31926","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"state":[],"class_list":["post-3665","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3665"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4117,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3665\/revisions\/4117"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/state?post=3665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}