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Grateful for the opportunity
Lend Lease Group (Lend Lease) is an Australian-based multinational property management and investment company operating in over 40 countries.
Since 2004, Lend Lease has been working in partnership with CRS Australia to develop an on-the-job training and mentoring program for job seekers with a disability who have Information Technology career goals. This program aims to improve job seekers’ competitiveness to get a job in the industry.
Training sessions are tailored to individual needs, with trainees assigned to a mentor who provides individual support to assist the trainee to gain confidence and feel welcome within the organisation.
To date, 18 CRS Australia job seekers with a range of physical and psychological disabilities – for example people with restricted movement, visual impairment, and mental health conditions – have successfully completed the program, with 13 people getting a job with the company.
Loraine, Office Administrator for Lend Lease, says, ‘I’ve actually seen people who come here and have very low to no self-esteem and see such great change in them. And to be a part of making an improvement in someone’s life is something very, very special.’
'To be a part of making an improvement in someone’s life is something very, very special.'Loraine, Lend Lease
Since introducing the on-the-job training and mentoring program, additional training opportunities for people with a disability have now become available in Lend Lease’s Human Resources, Accounts, Lend Lease Learning Academy, Programming, and more recently Lend Lease Retail.
Introducing the program has resulted in Lend Lease experiencing numerous business benefits, such as improved staff retention rates, reduced recruitment costs and consequently reduced training costs.
Loraine says, ‘It’s been proven very much at Lend Lease that people with a disability have hardly any days off sick, they’re very grateful for the opportunity and don’t take anything for granted.’
Lend Lease’s ongoing commitment to providing training and employment opportunities was recognised by winning a Diversity@Work 2007 Award in the category of Employment and Inclusion of People with a Disability.
Loraine says, ‘Winning the large employer Diversity Award was really exciting, and it’s certainly given the program here a lot more credibility.’