Eric and APM Employment Services transcript
Eric: I’m Eric from Kidman Park, I played soccer for Australia in the Disability World Cup team. Before I had a job, I felt a bit bored and nothing to do just trying to kill time and felt like I didn't have a purpose. It was a bit hard and I applied all the time for jobs on Seek and all that, and sometimes you get a reply back. Sometimes you don't get no replies back at all.
Ellen: Eric has an intellectual disability, and he struggles with his cognitive ability and being able to fill out paperwork and understand basic forms, also his confidence building, he needed a lot of confidence in himself to be able to get out there and succeed in the workplace. So Eric and I sat down and we had a really good conversation about his strengths and interests. We discussed the things that he really likes doing and, the successes that he's had in the past. And we then created a resume that was very easy for Eric to read and explain, but laid out to the employer all the great skills that he had.
Eric: I'm working at Red Nose now, once a week for eight hours and it’s great, meeting new people and all that. They were nice and supportive, and if you had trouble the first time they’ll just show you again.
Andrew: Typically I have him in the warehouse helping. That's where we need the most help, day to day. So we'd start usually by unloading trucks from the day before. So that's offloading all the donations. That's separating into soft, it’s separating into hard. And then it would be processing whatever we have for the day. When he first came, yeah, he would follow me around a little bit and just talk with me, and then as the weeks have gone by, he's sort of opened up to everyone else in the warehouse and formed a few friendships here I think.
Ellen: When Eric got a job, it felt like celebrating my own successes. We honestly jumped for joy in the office. We were so excited for him, proud of him, and knew just how excited he would be for this opportunity. He has his shoulders back and his head held high and he's just so proud of himself.
Eric: Now I've got a bit of money I can go places, like go on holidays if I want to, and going out for dinner and lunch with friends and all that.
Alex: APM have been extremely easy to work with. They have provided us with some outstanding members of staff, many of which have stayed on board for well over 12 months now and are a massive asset to the team. And APM, yeah, we can't speak highly enough of them. Eric exudes enjoyment for his role, which is something that is really important to us as an employer. The potential in him was visible instantly, but I have certainly seen his confidence grow. How does it personally feel to make Eric thrive? Very tear jerking for me. I find it just absolutely delightful. And, if we can offer that as employers, why wouldn't we.