At 25 years of age, Johnny’s limited work experience belied his untapped potential. When we first met Johnny in our Fairfield office in March 2019, he had been looking for work and contacting employers, but hadn’t been successful in securing a long-term job. Part of a close-knit family, Johnny was often accompanied to his appointments by his advocate and father, Elias.
A focus on strengths
Johnny was born with Down Syndrome. His strengths for work include his friendly nature, his joy at helping others and his curiosity to learn new things. He is outgoing, well suited to routine tasks and was highly motivated to be productive at work.
Together with his employment consultant, Johnny refined his job search to suitable and desirable roles in administration, warehouse wok and customer service. His employment consultant helped him tailor and update his resumes to his target industries and personally promoted him to local employers.
Learning new skills for work
Johnny’s job search paid off quickly and within one month, he secured packing work in King Living’s warehouse.
But first, Johnny had to learn the transport routes to work! Together with his employment consultant, he travelled the bus and train routes and followed a written plan until he was confident to travel independently.
On the job, Johnny was paired with a supportive manager who invested a lot of time teaching him the necessary skills for his packing tasks. Before long, Johnny was helping customers and efficiently completing his tasks, impressing his employer along the way.
“The good thing about Johnny is you give him a task and he’ll take it on board…if he’s not confident, he’ll ask questions,” says Sam Rigopolous, Warehouse and Logistics Manager at King Living.
While working part-time, Johnny continued to upgrade his qualifications, completing a Certificate III in Business course hosted at the Jobfind Fairfield office. His new skills included customer service and computing.
Ongoing support to succeed
To support Johnny’s needs, Jobfind was able to offer his employer a wage subsidy to assist with Johnny’s ongoing employment and training needs.
He’s now considered an asset to the business and the advice from Johnny’s employer to other businesses is this:
“Give the individual a chance. Look at the capabilities of the individual.”
On his days off, Johnny continued to meet face-to-face with his Jobfind employment consultant to stay on track with his work and study goals. He picked up volunteer work and also a new fitness routine to achieve his health goals.
More than two years on, Johnny remains a steady worker with King Living.
“He is doing well, and loves his job,” reports his dad.
Watch Johnny’s story below:
