Mahi - The Disability Employment Podcast

Workbridge CEO Jonathan Mosen speaks with Holly Walker, Deputy Director of the Helen Clark Foundation about their latest report, "Still Alone Together".   The new report draws upon new statistics, and highlights the disproportionate loneliness felt by disabled people in Aotearoa New Zealand. The report also looks at how loneliness changed as the nation came out of Level 4 lockdown, and the progress made against the recommendations made in the Foundation's original paper on loneliness. Jonathan Mosen contributed to this paper on how being employed not only brings dignity and economic independence, but also lessens loneliness.   The report is available in a variety of formats from The Helen Clark Foundation's website.  

When you're a kid who loves to draw with dreams of becoming a cartoonist, learning that you have deteriorating sight is a lot to cope with. But Brent Harpur has lived his dream and is celebrating 30 years teaching drawing, drawing cartoons, writing, entertaining and more. Quite unexpectedly and organically, he found viral success on Facebook during the lockdown. Now, Grow Digital is helping this gifted disabled artist sell his content in the digital age, potentially opening it up to a global audience.   Time and packages for Grow Digital are strictly limited, so if you'd like to discuss your ideas, give Grow Digital a call today on 0800-344-477.   To learn more about Brent's story, you can watch this documentary about him, Scattered Joy.    

We begin by answering questions you've asked us about Grow Digital, our new service that can assist small to medium enterprises driven by disabled people.   Digital exclusion is a serious issue for many disabled people. Workbridge is proud to be collaborating with Manaiakalani Education Trust to facilitate the digital inclusion of disabled people, through a programme MET is running thanks to funding from the Department of Internal Affairs.   Workbridge CEO, Jonathan Mosen, speaks with Kristen Waters from Manaiakalani Education Trust about how they got strated, what they offer and the positive difference their work is making.

Workbridge's National Accessibility Advisor Britta Offergeld joins Jonathan Mosen to discuss Grow Digital.    Grow Digital is a free service funded by the Department of Internal Affairs that assists disabled people running a small to medium enterprise (SME), or businesses who mainly employ disabled people, to boost their digital skills.   Britta provides just a few examples of how Grow Digital can assist you if you're disabled and run your own business.    

In this episode, we take you virtually to Workbridge's Annual General Meeting.   Workbridge Council President Debbie Ward, Board Chair Pam Macneill, and CEO Jonathan Mosen report on the financial year just ended.   Plus, Jonathan Mosen gives an address called Expectations.

We conclude our general election series by speaking with National's disability spokesperson, Alfred Ngaro.

On 21 August, Workbridge launched our "Policy that Works" thought leadership document. The previous episode of Mahi contains a full reading of the document. In this episode, listen to the launch.   Speakers are Workbridge Chairman Pam MacNeill, Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero, Business New Zealand Chief Executive Kirk Hope, and Workbridge's Chief Executive Jonathan Mosen. To read "Policy that Works" in a variety of formats, visit the Policy that Works page.    

Workbridge is proud to launch the thought leadership document ‘Policy that Works: A fair go for disability employment post COVID-19”. Workbridge has been at the forefront of thought leadership on the employment of disabled people since our founding in 1931. Over time, we have led advocacy for changes in public policy to reflect evolving attitudes towards the self-determination of disabled people. This difficult COVID recovery situation has created a once in a generation opportunity to significantly reform public policy on the employment of disabled people for the better. It is the responsibility of all of us not to squander that opportunity. The most important changes that will make the biggest impact to the lives of disabled people, if implemented, should include: The fee-for-service contract model be updated with a holistic framework focussing on careers rather than individual jobs, co-designed by disabled people. Government acts to address the widespread community concerns about the impact of the benefit

Continuing our interviews with the disability spokespeople from political parties in Parliament, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Hon Tracey Martin from New Zealand First. In addition to being New Zealand First's disability spokesperson, Ms Martin is Minister for Children, Seniors and Internal Affairs, and Associate Minister of Education

On 19 September, we will choose who governs New Zealand for the next three years.   Disability issues are not often discussed in the media, so over the next few episodes of Mahi, we are inviting the disability issues spokespeople from all political parties represented in Parliament to join us. We'll discuss a range of disability-related topics that may be on your mind as you decide who to vote for.   Joining Jonathan Mosen on this episode is Golriz Ghahraman, Disability Issues spokesperson for the Green Party. They discuss representation, employment, accessibility, the Simpson Review, if there should be a Ministry for Disability Issues and more.   For more information about the Green Party, you can visit their website.    If you have a comment about anything discussed in this episode, please share! Email podcast@workbridge.co.nz or call our listener line, 04-472-0200.    

It's hard to find extensive mainstream media coverage of the Government's Budget from a disability perspective. On this episode of Mahi, Workbridge's Chief Executive Jonathan Mosen is joined by an expert panel to discuss what the Budget means for disabled people and issues arising from the recovery from COVID-19.   We'll hear from Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero, New Zealand Disability Support Network Chief Executive Garth Bennie and Workbridge's Manager Stakeholder Relations Nick Ruane.

In this special episode of Mahi, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero about COVID-19. Paula details some of the input she continues to have in the formulation of public policy around managing the pandemic, and we discuss some specific issues of concern to disabled people. During the pandemic, we will gladly use this resource to conduct interviews of interest to the disability community. If you'd like to hear from someone in particular, contact us via the methods mentioned in the podcast and we'll do what we can. Kia kaha.  

We hope you and your whanau are doing well as we all unite against COVID-19.   The team at Workbridge are working from home, but we're still here to serve our jobseeker and employer customers. We'll be reaching out, but should you need anything, please be in touch.   The Support Funds team is also fully operational. Jonathan Mosen speaks with Lee Nattrass. She provides us with an overview of Support Funds and tells us how the team continues to be processing applications.   And we meet Whitney Tangaroa, Workbridge's Manager Brand Development. Six months into the role, she talks about what she does and what she's learned.

It's the question that vexes many disabled people seeking work. Whether, when or how to disclose your impairment to a potential employer.   In this episode of Mahi, Workbridge Chief Executive Jonathan Mosen is joined by Chris Ford, Nick Ruane and Katy Hetherington. Each has their own unique experience and perspective to share on the disability disclosure issue.   What do you think? Drop us an email to the address mentioned in the podcast, either written down or by way of an audio attachment. You can also call our listener line any time and leave a message, 04-472-0200.  

We begin this episode with news that the Government has begun a consultation process on its Disability Employment Action Plan. If you'd like to, you can read the document and let them know your views.   At Workbridge, we're proud that our Council President, Board Chairman and Chief Executive are disabled people. Workbridge Chief Executive and host of Mahi, Jonathan Mosen, speaks with new Workbridge Council President Debbie Ward and new Workbridge Board Chairman Pam MacNeill. we learn a little about them and what they hope to achieve in their respective roles.    

An important part of changing the dire unemployment statistics for disabled people in New Zealand is giving employers greater confidence to employ disabled people. Many have concerns about perceived risk and poor productivity, and Workbridge helps to allay those concerns. Recently, Workbridge held a lunch for some of New Zealand's top chief executives. In this podcast, you'll hear our Chief Executive, Jonathan Mosen, and the keynote speaker, Phil O'Reilly, Managing Director of Iron Duke Partners. It's encouraging to hear this global business leader speak with such passion to other business leaders about why New Zealand business should step up and be more inclusive of disabled people. If you're an employer of any size, you'll find Phil's talk informative. If you're a jobseeker, we hope you enjoy hearing some of the work Workbridge is doing to make New Zealand a more inclusive place.   Whether you're an employer wanting to make your workplace as good as it can be, or a jobseeker who wants to work with someone

There's an app for almost anything, so why not for Workbridge too?   Jonathan Mosen speaks with Workbridge's General Manager for Information Technology, Phil Hendry, about some big changes being implemented that will give you more choice over the way you receive services.   Many jobs are now advertised online exclusively, and IT skills are critical for many jobs, yet the cost of this technology can put it out of reach for many. Phil tells us about the free public Wi-Fi now rolling out at all 22 Workbridge centres along with the introduction of new computers for all our customers to use for job-search-related tasks.   These computers are fully accessible to people who are blind or have low vision thanks to a donation from Freedom Scientific, a division of Vispero, and it's New Zealand distributor Pacific Vision.   Fusion offers the industry-leading ZoomText magnification for those with low vision, and JAWS, the world's leading screen reading software.   Barry Burgess from Pacific Vision joins Jonathan to talk

In this our first episode, we begin by introducing our new podcast and what you can expect to hear in future episodes.   Jonathan Mosen speaks with Danielle Van Dalen from the Maxim Institute. They’ve published a couple of papers on the employment of disabled people, the most recent of which is called Creating Opportunity. We discuss what might be done to make a real dent in the dire unemployment statistics for disabled people. Workbridge wants to know what you think. We’ve begun the process of putting a new strategic plan together, and you can have your say. To find out how, and to read the document, visit the Workbridge Strategy page. Submissions close on 18 October. We welcome your feedback for the podcast. Email podcast@workbridge.co.nz or call our Listener Line on 04-472-0200.    

Be sure to subscribe to mahi and catch our first episode, available soon.