Matt

By Matt O’Neil, VIC

[I like] chatting to customers, help people find things, stock take, it’s like cleaning my bedroom.

I like working and talking. I am always talking and don’t take myself too seriously.

[I don’t like] difficult customers. It doesn’t happen too much. I move on and don’t give them time.

The best boss is always makes sure everyone gets fair pay. A good boss is always honest and straightforward. [They should] make sure they hire lots of different people from lots of different backgrounds. It doesn’t matter if you are from a different background, have a disability or anything. All backgrounds are included.

I like being part of the team. We have the morning, afternoon and night team. I work in the morning. It brings out the best in me. I like the people I work with, they always look after me.

Before I got paid, I did work experience. I learnt all my skills on the job and then I was ready to get paid. I got into trouble sometimes, but that’s what training is for. Whenever I make mistakes, I just want to learn from it and be positive.

If [you] do want to have a job, chat to a job agency, they can help you with job support, they can find you a job. You can get funding from the NDIS, it is really important. At the moment, we are stuck on 30% of funding, we need more, and it’s taking too long.

The NDIS have made a start, but the government needs to do more to make people included.

This article has been written with support.