DVJS Employer Newsletter Autumn 2017 | Page 4

DVJS IN THE NEWS! THE ULTIMATE TEAM! St John of God Hospital & DVJS join forces! St John of God Berwick Hospital wanted to do more than just help people in their care, they wanted to improve the lives of people who just needed an opportunity. DVJS is honoured to help St John of God make this happen, as part of an epic cross-organisation collaboration focused on ensuring fantastic and capable people get that opportunity. This means jobseekers with a disability will be given a fair chance at employment at St John of God Berwick Hospital. St John have signed a disability employment collaboration agreement teaming up with select groups - like DVJS It means we will work in partnership across organisations to support people with disability to “at least access the interview stage” if a job were to become available at the hospital. The hospital believes that despite possessing qualifications and experience, very few people with a disability get invited to a job interview. This is due to “an ill-informed understanding on the part of the employer of what it actually means to give a person with a disability a job”. The new St John of God is currently under construction “Many people miss out because they have a disability, not because they don’t have the skills,” St John of God Healthcare Group Co-ordinator of Social Justice Advocacy Neal Murphy said. The healthcare group expects to have an additional 200 caregiver job opportunities once the new $120 million Kangan Drive hospital is complete, providing “a change for people to get what they desperately want – a career in healthcare”. The hospital said they would provide equal employment opportunities for job seekers, regardless of their disability status.