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With a range of skills and experiences, people with disability represent one of Australia's greatest under-represented talent pools. This report argues that a new approach is needed to break down the barriers for people with disability, and to increase their role and advancement in the workplace. In late 2022, BCA surveyed its members to generate information on existing strategies and activities by members covering recruitment, retention and advancement of people with disability. The scoping survey has provided valuable insight into: foundational practices members are taking, including by way of commitments and accountability; emerging trends, including practices to support workplace culture and inclusion; and imperatives for success where the focus has shifted from attraction and recruitment to a focus on engagement and development. This report presents the key findings across these domains and best practice case studies to assist members to drive further gains in employment outcomes.

From the findings, BCA has developed these seven factors for success: (1) implement workplace adjustment to recruit and retain employees with disability; (2) develop or review discrete and identifiable Disability Recruitment, Retention and Career Development Strategies; (3) establish senior leadership group to drive and monitor progress; (4) develop an employee reference group that meets with senior leadership quarterly; (5) implement disability confidence training particularly to middle management levels; (6) examine talent identification and career pathway to support career advancement opportunities for people with disability; and (7) create regular stories about disability employment success on internal and external communication platforms.

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In Australia, the average industry gender pay gap still stands around 17 per cent. The Australian workforce is highly gender segmented; women predominate in four or five industries and occupations. Women are more likely to be employed in low paying jobs with little or no career pathways. They are more likely to be employed as casuals and part time workers. They are more likely to have interrupted work patterns and breaks in their paid employment. The Committee inquired into and reported on the causes of any potential disadvantages in relation to women’s participation in the workforce including, but not limited to: (1) the adequacy of current data to reliably monitor employment changes that may impact on pay equity issues; (2) the need for education and information among employers, employees and trade unions in relation to pay equity issues; (3) current structural arrangements in the negotiation of wages that may impact disproportionately on women; (4) the adequacy of recent and current equal remuneration provisions in state and federal workplace relations legislation; (5) the adequacy of current arrangements to ensure fair access to training and promotion for women who have taken maternity leave and/or returned to work part time and/or sought flexible work hours; and (6) the need for further legislative reform to address pay equity in Australia. The report sets out a scheme to act to close the gender pay gap. It includes proposed amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009, greater powers for the Sex Discrimination Commissioner to act on wage discrimination and the establishment of a specialist Pay Equity Unit within Fair Work Australia with a broad mandate for change.

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More women are active in the Victorian labour market now than in the past, yet women make up only a fraction of workers in Australian construction. We must put initiatives in place to ensure women can become fully qualified, well-paid tradespeople, managers and supervisors. Construction has always been a male-dominated industry, but that needs to change. That is why the Victorian Government has developed Australia's first Building Equality Policy. We recognise that there will only be equal numbers of men and women working in construction if we take steps to attract, recruit and retain women. The Building Equality Policy will create training and employment opportunities for women in the construction industry, through government procurement on building, infrastructure, civil engineering and any other capital works projects. The Victorian Government is committed to increasing the targets and requirements in the Building Equality Policy (BEP) to create a more gender inclusive industry.

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This report is part of a project that has been funded by economicSecurity4Women (eS4W). Women in Adult and Vocational Education (WAVE) was contracted to undertake the investigation and materials production that will inform an advocacy campaign. It aims to build a map of potentially viable work for Australian women by identifying industries and occupations with viable career pathways - work that is emergent and falls in identified areas of existing and/or potential skills shortages. It includes work in non-traditional male-dominated fields, where the existing participation of women workers remains at a very low ratio. The aim of mapping and investigating this topic is to provide a foundation from which to devise strategies to identify and target areas where initiatives for women and girls can be implemented to increase and support their engagement and inclusion in industries and occupations that offer career paths, sustainable employment, transferable skills and financial benefits.

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The report covers: (1) an introduction to viability indicators; (2) the mapping approach; (3) the findings and discussion around the following areas: viable work for women and girls; women's participation in skills shortage and job growth areas; the greem economy; and promoting careers in trades to girls and women; (4) examples of best practice: gender sensitive programs and successful strategies for women in emergent and non-traditional areas of work; (5) strategies to attract women and girls to emergent and non-traditional occupations and industries; (6) policy action for improved viable employment for women; (7) recommendations for action; and (8) project products. Show less

This is a report of the National Working Group on Women in Apprenticeships. The Working Group was intended to develop a strategy to increase the representation of women in non-traditional trades. The decision to establish a National Working Group on Women in Apprenticeship was taken in recognition of the current low level of representation of women in the trades labour force, and in the context of Commonwealth and State Government commitment to equality of opportunity for women. The need for action to encourage women to enter nontraditional trades encompasses both efficiency and equity arguments. A detailed analysis of obstacles to female participation in the trades suggests that the current low level of female participation is the result of a wide range of social and institutional factors, on both the supply and demand side. The Working Group consisted of members drawn from Commonwealth and State labour departments, State training authorities, TAFE, and employer and union groups. The strategy was to consist of: (1) a framework within which efforts of Commonwealth and State agencies with responsibilities in this area can be coordinated; (2) specific projects in accordance with this framework; (3) mechanisms for the ongoing coordination and monitoring of efforts in this area. The key objectives of the strategy were to: encourage community acceptance of trade training as a viable career option for women with special emphasis on those trades other than hairdressing; ensure equal access for men and women to the career opportunities offered by the trade training system; introduce specific measures designed to redress the current under-representation of women in the trades; provide a supportive environment for women who enter trade training; and bring about a significant increase in female representation in the trades by 1990, with special emphasis on those trades other than hairdressing. It was proposed that the objectives be addressed through a number of priority areas over the following three years. Efforts should focus on trades where women account for less than 50 per cent of apprentice numbers. The priority areas are as follows: (1) improving women's awareness of the trades: (2) encouraging women to apply for positions as apprentices; (3) removing barriers faced by women seeking to undertake trade-based pre-einployinent courses or to enter apprenticeship; (4) removing structural and institutional barriers to women's entry to the trades; (5) increasing the number of women in apprenticeship where Commonwealth and State Governments have the capacity/power to do so; (6) increasing the representation of women in the institutional decision-making process; and (7) instituting measures to monitor and evaluate progress.

'Women in entry level training: policy review of the 1987 report Women in Apprenticeship' is indexed at TD/ERD 87.13. Show less

This research project was commissioned to assist the Department for Communities (DfC) to further understand the experience of and issues faced by people with disabilities in achieving their employment goals. It sought to strengthen the evidence base on employment outcomes for people with disabilities in Northern Ireland to inform the development of the Disability Employment Strategy.

The project explored disparities in the employment outcomes between disabled and non-disabled people, barriers and constraints that prevent people with disabilities from achieving their employment goals and potential interventions to address the issues. The research also took stock of the employment impacts of [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 for people with disabilities and the need for targeted interventions in response.

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This consultation sought views on how the UK government can halve the disability employment gap. It is noted that, despite the current record-breaking labour market, 4.6 million disabled people and people with long-term health conditions are out of work. Less than half (48 per cent) of disabled people are in employment, compared to 80 per cent of the non-disabled population. Topics in this consultation included the role of employers and work coaches, improvements to the welfare system, investing in innovative services, occupational health support and changing the culture around work and health.

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Autistic adults are willing and able employees but face a number of barriers to gaining and maintaining meaningful employment, one of which is a lack of exposure to work experience and workplace training opportunities. A case study of an autism specific employment program is presented, which provided an opportunity for autistic candidates to learn role-related tasks at the employment site over an extended training and assessment period, and comprehensive training and transition support for successful applicants. To date, limited data exists evaluating autism-specific hiring programs involving a vocational education and training component, which is addressed by this study. To evaluate the program, one-on-one interviews were conducted, approximately three months post-employment, with the successful autistic employees; focus groups were also conducted with their co-workers. The study identified a number of positive aspects of the program (e.g. extended exposure to the role and workplace prior to role start, individual support, modifications), and areas for improvement (e.g. further training for co-workers). The findings suggest that programs that provide extended onsite vocational training and support may benefit autistic job candidates and allow an effective transition into the workplace.

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All Australian governments signed the National Indigenous Reform Agreement in 2009. This Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreement sets six outcome-based reform targets to address Indigenous disadvantage and close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Governments recommitted to the agreement in 2011, and reviewed and agreed a more streamlined structure. National and State and Territory results against the indicators and targets in the agreement are assessed and reported publicly. Progress over time is assessed, trends identified and evaluations made as to whether governments are on track to close the gap. This year, the assessment looks back over five years to evaluate what progress governments have made. The report is structured using the six closing the gap targets: (1) closing the life expectancy gap within the generation (by 2031); (2) halving the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a decade (by 2018); (3) ensuring all Indigenous four-year-olds in remote communities have access to early childhood education within five years (by 2013); (4) halving the gap for Indigenous students in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade (by 2018); (5) halving the gap for Indigenous people aged 20-24 years in Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates (by 2020); and (6) halving the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade (by 2018).

The report shows that while some key areas have improved, more focused effort is needed to achieve the goals agreed by COAG. In terms of Indigenous employment rates, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous outcomes widened between 2008 and 2012-13. A slump in school attendance rates in all jurisdictions in the later years of compulsory schooling is also concerning given the importance of attendance and completion for prospects of longer term economic participation. The report notes some positive steps in reducing the gap between the proportion of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students who meet the national minimum standard in reading and numeracy, and that the gap in Year 12 attainment has also narrowed by a significant margin. This shows the potential for continued positive improvement in schooling, which is critical to post-school outcomes.

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Norway's foreign-born population has tripled since 2000, and the share of migrants among the population has seen one of the largest increases across the OECD, mostly driven by labour migration from EU countries. Most migrants from non-EU countries, in contrast, are refugees and their family members. High qualification levels and labour market participation of the native-born raise the question of an adequate benchmark for integration outcomes, especially for the low-educated refugees and their families. Against this backdrop, Norway puts significant investment into integration, and a number of recent reforms have been aimed at strengthening the system.

This review provides an assessment of these reforms and the remaining challenges. It includes an overview of Norway's integration services - and the many substantial changes in recent years - as well as challenges in access and uptake of integration offers, activation programmes and outcomes of native-born children of immigrants in Norway. The report is structured as follows: chapter one presents the assessment and recommendations; chapter two provides an overview of the labour market context in which integration in Norway takes place, including the composition of the foreign-born population; chapter three discusses framework for the integration of humanitarian arrivals in Norway, including the Introduction Programme and language training; chapter four examines labour market outcomes of specific migrant groups and programmes for their support; and chapter five turns to the educational and labour market entry challenges that children of immigrants face in Norway. The report was largely completed before the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Norway swiftly adapted its integration framework to accommodate for the specific challenges arising from the inflow of refugees from Ukraine. These measures are discussed in chapter six.

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