Developing Culturally Informed Employment Resources in Western Australia
Aboriginal people can sometimes experience challenges when connecting with and engaging services. These challenges often occur when services are developed without connection to local culture and community.
Throughout 2020 we will be partnering with Aboriginal communities and Disability Employment Service providers in a number of locations across Western Australia to develop new, culturally informed resources to support the delivery of employment services.
This project builds upon what we learned in 2017 through the development of our Yarn Up Cards Resource which are designed to provide Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples with culturally relevant information about disability support and the NDIS.
The Yarn Up Employment project will take this approach further by building digital functionality that allows providers to customise and update personalised resources to meet the needs of their customers and local community. We will be undertaking a range of activities in partnership with service providers and communities in Western Australia.
Following engagement with employment service providers, the resources will be developed to align closely with specific program delivery needs ensuring that what is delivered offers a useful resource to organistions and individuals. . Insight gained through consultation with local Indigenous communities will then inform the development of contextually relevant language, imagery and visual elements to be used in the resources.
As a result of these resources, providers will have improved capacity to uncover what is important to Indigenous customers in the services they are seeking. In turn, providers will also gain knowledge about service gaps and demands, providing opportunities to deliver more localised responses that increase choice, and improve employment options and skill usage.