By TANIA PHILLIPS
SOUTHERN Downs Employment Service provides employment assistance to members of the Stanthorpe and Warwick communities who identify as having a disability.
Some say they are a boutique employment service provider given they are able to create close partnerships with jobseekers and local employers.
They just like to think of themselves as a supportive mechanism to bring motivated people together with employers wishing to create an equal opportunity workplace.
Southern Downs Employment Service aims to help people gain greater confidence through open employment opportunities and also opportunities to upskill through education and training.
Southern Downs Employment Service has placed over 50 jobseekers between Stanthorpe and Warwick over the past 18 months, with a majority of those jobseekers still in paid employment and no longer requiring assistance from Southern Downs Employment or Centrelink.
They pride themselves on the professionalism they bring to the community, their jobseekers, local employers and their work environment.
They create partnerships with employers as they can negotiate incentives to assist small business via wage subsidies and employer incentives, also have opportunities for workplace modifications or negotiate for supportive wage opportunities.
Their aim is to work together with many different organisations in the Stanthorpe and Warwick communities, to build linkages and create opportunities that strengthen not only the economic sector, but also society as a whole.
