S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host Sam Colley.
S2: Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision.
S3: Having all the skills, knowledge, education, you know, right up
S3: your sleeve. I think that absolutely helps when you step
S3: your foot in the workplace, you know your jaws, you
S3: know your zoomtext, you know your white cane, how to
S3: get around. You just feel confident in that way and
S3: no one can take that away from you.
S2: Welcome to the program. This week I'm very excited to
S2: welcome a voice who may few of you may be
S2: familiar with. Her name is Vildana Praljak. She's the National
S2: employment manager at Vision Australia, and I had the great
S2: pleasure of catching up with her recently as part of
S2: the Career Path podcast. And that interview is coming up
S2: very shortly, so make sure to stick around for that one.
S2: Then after we hear from Vildana, it's my great pleasure
S2: to welcome Umbreen Williams from personnel Group, who's Allied Health
S2: Department are running a series of information sessions around the
S2: NDIS and the various clinical services available to people with
S2: disabilities in their communities. I hope you enjoy this week's
S2: episode of Talking Vision. Kicking off the show this week,
S2: we feature an abridged version of my chat with National
S2: Employment Manager from Vision Australia, Vildana Praljak. Vildana has lived
S2: experience of low vision, and this week you'll hear from
S2: her as she busts some common myths faced by numerous
S2: members of the blind and low vision community when interacting
S2: in the workforce. So without further ado, let's hear from
S2: Vildana right now. Today I'm excited to be joined by
S2: Vildana Praljak. Welcome, Vildana.
S3: Thank you Sam. And well done on pronunciation of my
S3: last name.
S2: No problem at all.
S3: Pretty spot.
S2: On. It's important to get people's names right, I think. Definitely.
S2: So good to hear. Now, firstly, Vildana, how can we
S2: break the myth that vision loss limits career options and
S2: help everyone to see the endless possibilities across industries like technology,
S2: finance and creative arts?
S3: Awesome. Not a big question at all. Do we have
S3: three hours? How do we break those myths? It is
S3: quite tricky, I think. Tricky in a way, to kind
S3: of there's not a simple solution to say, yes, we
S3: can do this by following these steps one, two and three.
S3: I think it comes down to some of the societal
S3: stereotypes that have been misapplied to people who are blind
S3: or have low vision historically, sometimes at the employer attitudes
S3: as well. And how could we do that? I'd say
S3: by probably showcasing some good stories. Employers where the placement
S3: into job for a person who's blind has low vision,
S3: has been quite successful, has worked well and helped employer
S3: to position themselves as an inclusive employer and to be honest,
S3: really increase their competitive advantage. I'd say it would be
S3: around us as a community of people who are blind
S3: to have a vision, really making sure that we have
S3: all of our education technology skills or what we call
S3: job readiness really up to date, because that really helps
S3: us to kind of showcase our talents and who we
S3: are really as a person. So that means if you're
S3: using screen readers being quite good and practicing and having
S3: enough experience in navigating computers or getting good skills and
S3: strategies in getting around the community and public transport, as
S3: well as some of those independent living skills around, even
S3: just like, how are you going to make a cup
S3: of tea in the office? Just all of that, I'd say,
S3: would probably come under that big umbrella of job readiness.
S3: I'll try and summarize it in a very, um, it's
S3: kind of both way work. The societal and the employer
S3: attitude needs shifting. But also we have to, as a community,
S3: be able to showcase our talents and our possibilities in
S3: the best possible light and be job ready.
S2: There are a few myths out there. For example, people
S2: might think, oh, there's only a few jobs I can
S2: do as someone with vision loss. So how can we
S2: challenge that belief, that vision loss limits career choices and
S2: inspire people to pursue diverse roles.
S3: Again, it comes back to connecting and being a part
S3: of community of people who are blind or have low
S3: vision and really looking out for those positive role models
S3: and to be honest, just approaching them, having a conversation
S3: with them and seeing, you know, how did you get there?
S3: What did you do? What worked? What didn't work? What
S3: is some of the advice that you can share? It's
S3: not a linear path. Absolutely. And there's a lot of
S3: ups and downs in anyone's journey, but I think it's
S3: just kind of connecting and being quite proactive with the
S3: broader blindness and low vision communities, because there are some
S3: exceptional leaders in those spaces. In my day to day job,
S3: I have had the opportunity to get to know quite
S3: a few different people that are working in all sorts
S3: of jobs everything from administrative roles, warehousing jobs all the
S3: way through to executive jobs in the government and large
S3: corporations like banks. Cybersecurity in community services in financial sector. Honestly, yeah.
S3: Where they say where there's an internet connection, Fiction. There
S3: is a job for someone who is blind and has
S3: low vision. But again, not to say that everyone has
S3: to have a job in the office. Absolutely. There are
S3: an incredible technologies now put in different environments that you
S3: can do some more hands on type jobs as well.
S3: I can't see us really driving airplanes for now, but
S3: the way technology is going, you know, why not?
S2: Yeah. Who knows?
S3: One day see that as one of the options?
S2: Absolutely. Yeah. And people who are blind or have low vision,
S2: they often face a few issues with perhaps self-esteem or confidence.
S2: Or can I do the job? Am I capable? And
S2: they have this nagging feeling in their brain, oh, you know,
S2: I'll always be at a disadvantage in the workplace, but
S2: how can we embrace the strengths that come with living
S2: with vision loss, such as adaptability and resilience, and use
S2: those to excel in the workplace?
S3: You're spot on. So as someone who is blind or
S3: has low vision and I absolutely, I am legally blind myself.
S3: I've acquired vision loss, and I absolutely can kind of
S3: tell a bit of a difference between the life before
S3: and after vision loss. And like you said, the adaptability,
S3: the flexibility, just the workarounds and the practicalities that come
S3: with vision loss. I'd absolutely say that's been a huge
S3: advantage for my own career progression. I think it's not
S3: a one size fits all approach, but I'd say celebrating
S3: some of the strengths that you have and absolutely like
S3: that sense of feeling like an imposter or this is
S3: not where I belong, or I feel like someone has
S3: just given me this role because of XYZ, not because
S3: I'm talented. I've been there. So I think it's just
S3: making the most out of any opportunity. And the confidence
S3: will be built by a sense of achievement. I'd say
S3: just if you are starting really small, volunteering in your
S3: local community, or even if you like, for Vision Australia,
S3: and contributing and seeing the impact of your work and
S3: slowly kind of starting to work towards your first job,
S3: that all helps to flex those muscles of confidence and self-esteem.
S3: So just trying to build as many as you can,
S3: those opportunities where you can contribute and feel like you
S3: are a part of something. And again, having all the skills, knowledge, education,
S3: you know, right up your sleeve, I think that absolutely
S3: helps when you step your foot in the workplace, you
S3: know your jaws, you know your zoom text, you know
S3: your white cane, how to get around you just feel
S3: confident in that way, and no one can take that
S3: away from you. And you know, I always say vision
S3: loss is not the most exciting thing about me. There's
S3: so much I can do and stuff that I've done
S3: and the achievements and failures as well. But I'd say
S3: having all of those definitely being quite familiar with the technology,
S3: getting around and living independently, I think that's the biggest,
S3: biggest catalyst to anyone's good, healthy confidence.
S2: And following on from that Vildana, there's a related kind
S2: of thought that people might have where they might think, oh,
S2: employers won't want to hire me because of my vision loss,
S2: but how can we shift that narrative and help employers
S2: recognize that talent and diverse perspectives, not eyesight, are what
S2: drives success.
S3: It's a complex one, and different employers or even industries
S3: are at different stages of their sort of inclusive hiring practices.
S3: In the employment services at Vision Australia, we partner with
S3: several different employers and some are very much advanced in
S3: their journey of inclusive hiring. We have a pipeline pretty
S3: much with some employers. I hope they will not mind
S3: me naming them like Apple for example. We work very
S3: directly with the talent acquisition team and they are very,
S3: very open to accommodate. But they also want to see
S3: the talent as they say. They really want to see
S3: the people being hungry for the work and really wanting
S3: to get out there and achieve. And I think it's
S3: really building on that, showcasing those stories, but also allowing
S3: Employers because often the attitudes from my experience, it really
S3: comes from ignorance and not knowing what to do. What's
S3: the right thing to do? So people do two things.
S3: Either they say or do something inappropriate or disengage completely.
S3: What we're trying to do, I'd say, would be, can
S3: we have a very open and confidential conversation with employers?
S3: What is it that concerns you? And sometimes I know
S3: some blind, low vision peers would go and show them
S3: how they use technology. And it's like, this is just
S3: how I do things. If that's what's going to change
S3: the levels of confidence for the employer. Sometimes you can
S3: point them to different success stories or have a conversation,
S3: arrange a coffee, catch up with that potential employer or recruiter,
S3: and invite a colleague that's really successful and has done
S3: it in their career. There's just different ways of thinking
S3: outside of the box, but I think as a community,
S3: I'd say we'll have to be just open and prepared
S3: for that conversation where people may ask a lot of
S3: potentially awkward questions, but I think it really comes from
S3: ignorance more than anything.
S2: Vildana what would you say to somebody who might be thinking, oh,
S2: I can't pursue a career in technology or fast paced industries?
S2: How can we encourage people with vision loss to embrace
S2: those sorts of careers? Fast paced industries like technology, finance, healthcare,
S2: where assistive tools can level the playing field?
S3: Absolutely. And I've heard few senior leaders who are blind
S3: or have low vision saying there's never been a better
S3: time to be blind than now. And they're probably referring
S3: to the times when they would go to blind school
S3: versus to what it is today, where the whole world
S3: is sitting in our pocket. I'd say technology is the
S3: biggest enabler for employment and careers. For someone who has
S3: blindness or low vision. Again, be curious. Just play with
S3: those different software applications. I mean, there's a lot of
S3: talk around it in the community, but it's just incredible
S3: what it can do and the way it's going to
S3: be used in the workplace. You know, just stay on
S3: top of that. Read, educate yourself, have a go. If
S3: it's your first employment, try in a voluntary capacity first
S3: and see how you go. There's just different ways of
S3: cracking that tech world, but I'd say there are some
S3: fantastic examples of people who are blind or have low vision.
S3: Even at Vision Australia, for example, we have blind developers
S3: or companies like Microsoft or Apple as well. Optus as well.
S3: They some of their senior executives are people with lived
S3: experience of blindness and low vision. Westpac, like all these
S3: big banks? Absolutely. It is very possible. But it comes
S3: back to like, what is my bag of tricks and
S3: my bag of tools that I can use and obviously
S3: knowledge and those skills, curiosity and having fun. I would
S3: say would be probably the number one that I would
S3: say that would be my bag of tricks.
S2: What about those people who might be thinking, I don't
S2: have the confidence to go for my dream job? What
S2: steps can be taken to build that sort of confidence,
S2: focusing on strengths and feeling ready to pursue a dream
S2: job with support from career coaching and skills training.
S3: It's kind of chicken or egg. I don't think that
S3: any of us going to employment super confident. I remember
S3: when I was first starting and, you know, manager would
S3: ask me to do something like, what the hell? And
S3: I would just Google it. I think we partially would
S3: have to accept to be uncomfortable with uncertainty and not
S3: knowing that we don't know everything. I'd say, again, like
S3: practicing on a smaller kind of project, let's say at
S3: school or university or TAFE or volunteering. Just flex those
S3: muscles there. Just see how you go. It's a safe
S3: environment for you to trial and get some feedback. Work placements, internships,
S3: graduate programs they're all fantastic environments for someone to grow.
S3: And there are wonderful, wonderful mentorship programs out there as
S3: well that I can think of that really create that
S3: safe space to have a conversation and try things and
S3: hear from different perspectives. I'd also say the dream job
S3: is not a linear path to get to it. It's
S3: rarely really that, yeah, I want to be a CEO
S3: or I want to be an expert or an executive
S3: in a bank. It's a bit of a jungle gym.
S3: You go a bit left and right and one step
S3: forward and two backwards and then three steps ahead. And
S3: it's never really a straight, but I think as long
S3: as you kind of embrace it with a bit of,
S3: like I said, a curiosity and fun and exploring and
S3: desire to learn, I think everything will fall into place naturally.
S2: Phil, Donna, thank you so much for your time today.
S2: It was great to catch up with you and dispel
S2: all the different range of myths faced by the blind
S2: and low vision community in the workforce.
S3: Thank you Sam. Thanks for the opportunity.
S2: Vildana Praljak, their National Employment Manager from Vision Australia, chatting
S2: with me today about how we can bust the most
S2: common myths faced by members of the blind and low
S2: vision community when out and about in the workforce. If
S2: you'd love to hear the full episode, you can find
S2: the career path on your favorite podcast platform or through
S2: the Vision Australia library. This episode will very shortly be
S2: available in full, so be sure to check out the
S2: page very shortly. I'm Sam Corley and you're listening to
S2: Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio. Associated Stations of Reading
S2: Radio and the Community Radio Network. That was Vildana praljak
S2: there from Vision Australia. If you'd like to hear more
S2: from Vildana or you missed any part of that interview
S2: today on top of heading to the Career Path podcast.
S2: You can also find most of the interview on this
S2: week's episode of Talking Vision. Simply head to the Vision
S2: Australia Radio website at VA radio Dot. That's VA radio
S2: all one word.org or find us on your favorite podcast
S2: platform or through the Vision Australia library. And now back
S2: to the show with Umbaran. Today I'm speaking with Umbaran Williams,
S2: Business Development Manager at personnel Group, who's allied health department
S2: are running a series of information sessions, two of which
S2: are coming up very shortly in Perth and Wollongong for
S2: people to ask any questions they might have about not
S2: only the NDIS but behavioral support, psychology or occupational therapy.
S2: So to tell us all about the sessions. It's my
S2: great pleasure to welcome Maureen. Right now, I'm Maureen, welcome
S2: to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time today.
S4: Well, thanks so much for having me, Sam. I'm very,
S4: very excited and I have to let you know this
S4: is my second time being on the radio.
S2: Oh, okay.
S4: Hopefully I'll do better than the last time.
S2: No, I'm sure you'll do a wonderful job. First up, um, Maureen,
S2: I'd really love to hear about personnel group and in
S2: particular the allied health sector where you're working.
S4: Yeah, sure. Um, so the personnel group's been around for
S4: about 39 years. So big for next year for us. And, uh,
S4: we started working in the disability employment space. And we're
S4: very community minded. We're not for profit. And recently, in
S4: the last couple of years, we've expanded into the allied
S4: health space. And we're doing that in Victoria, New South Wales,
S4: Western Australia and Act. So we've got a few clinics
S4: around and some wonderful clinicians doing some amazing work. And
S4: my role I've only recently come on in April and
S4: my role is business development manager. And I suppose just
S4: connecting with other people in the community who are looking
S4: for supports as well as other NDIS providers. Yeah, just
S4: trying to really collaborate with people and see how we
S4: can help them.
S2: Okay. And I'd love to hear a bit more about
S2: those clinics. And as I understand, there's a couple coming
S2: up this month in fact. So tell us a bit
S2: about those.
S4: Yeah. So we've got a few clinics in, as I mentioned,
S4: in four different states. And what we've decided to do
S4: is a few free therapy info sessions. So in our
S4: clinic in Spearwood in Perth, we've got a free therapy
S4: info session coming up on the 16th of June, as
S4: well as our clinic in Dapto, New South Wales. We've
S4: got one on the 26th of June and anyone in
S4: the community, whether they have an NDIS plan, don't have one.
S4: Just have some questions. Can just come into our clinic
S4: and have a chat with our clinicians. So in our
S4: clinic we have Mitchell, who is a wonderful psychologist combined
S4: with behaviour support practitioner and our clinicians in Spearwood. We've
S4: got three of them who'll be present on the day.
S4: We'll have an occupational therapist, psychologist and positive behavior support practitioner.
S4: So yeah, any questions anyone has can be around school readiness.
S4: If they've got children can be about themselves. If they've
S4: got anxiety or challenges with sleep behaviours, anything really that
S4: people may not have access to a clinician to chat about.
S4: They can come and have a chat with our allied
S4: health professionals and it's going to be a very casual
S4: environment for them to do that and don't need to
S4: sign up. You can just walk in and hopefully it'll
S4: create a comfortable space for people where they can feel
S4: they can have those conversations.
S2: And let's get the locations of those places in Spearwood
S2: and Dapto. For people who are interested, but not quite
S2: sure where those places are and how they'd navigate their
S2: way there, and mobility is super important and being able
S2: to find your way around. What's the best way for
S2: people to make their way to the Spearwood or Dapto locations,
S2: if they require public transport or accessible ways to get around?
S4: So within Dapto, which is quite near Wollongong in New
S4: South Wales, is sort of on a main highway. So
S4: if you are able to take public transport or a
S4: car and get there, it's right in the middle of
S4: a very busy area with shopping centres and things around there,
S4: so it's quite accessible and easy to get to. Our
S4: clinic in Perth in Spearwood is a little bit out
S4: of the way. Located south of the river. So if
S4: you're coming from, say, Perth CBD, there's a few options.
S4: You can take a train and get off at Mandurah
S4: station and then get a bus at Fremantle station and
S4: get off there. Um, otherwise you can take a train
S4: straight to Fremantle station and then it's a bit of
S4: a walk about ten minutes from there. And the address
S4: for that one is three by 21 Mill Road in Spearwood.
S4: And the clinic is located, as I said, on Princes Highway.
S4: So that's number 62, Princess Highway in Dapto.
S2: Perfect. And um, let's get the days and times again
S2: for people out there of those two sessions in Dapto
S2: and Spearwood.
S4: Yeah, sure. So, uh, for the Spearwood clinic, We're having
S4: the session on the 16th of June from 3 to
S4: 4 p.m., and for the dental clinic, it's the 26th
S4: of June from 3 to 4:30 p.m..
S2: And, um, brain, let's go into the reasons behind why
S2: personnel Group is holding the info sessions.
S4: The reason we came up with it is, I suppose, Manyfold.
S4: But one of the reasons being we are very committed
S4: to supporting the local communities we live and work in,
S4: so we just wanted to support them and be able
S4: to be available to answer any questions people had. But also,
S4: I think working in the sector, working within the NDIS space,
S4: within the disability space, I think I and a lot
S4: of my colleagues, we find ourselves to be very, very
S4: privileged to have easy access to allied health professionals, medical professionals,
S4: a lot of people who have, you know, answers to
S4: even the smallest questions we might have. And we're very,
S4: very aware of the fact that a lot of people
S4: don't have access to that. People may not have, you know,
S4: the funds or the connections to be able to just,
S4: you know, phone a friend and ask a question about
S4: whether their child is struggling with behaviors or, you know,
S4: things like that. So I think it's very important for
S4: people to have a safe space and an easily accessible
S4: space where they can go and ask questions without judgment
S4: and not have to, you know, pay hundreds of dollars
S4: to access. And people may not have an NDIS plan,
S4: or people may not feel comfortable going through a GP
S4: to get a referral to a specialist. So I think
S4: just creating those spaces where people feel comfortable and can
S4: just ask any questions and don't have to pay a
S4: lot of money or pay money at all in this case.
S4: And yeah, there's nothing in it for us other than
S4: just trying to support our community better.
S2: And as you've said, I'm boring. People don't need to
S2: necessarily register. They can simply show up to those information
S2: sessions to find out more and meet up with the
S2: different staff members of the allied health offices. But if
S2: people would like to know a bit more about personnel
S2: Group or the allied health work that you're doing, what's
S2: the best way for them to look into it and
S2: perhaps find out more info?
S4: Yeah, so there's a few different ways people can find
S4: out more information. So we've published the events on Eventbrite.
S4: So if you go on to Eventbrite.com and you type
S4: in the personnel group, the events will be there. So
S4: you can have a look at those. You can also
S4: find us on the social media platforms. So we are
S4: on Facebook LinkedIn and you can check our website as well.
S4: So we do update our social media and our website
S4: quite regularly with information. But yeah, that's pretty much the
S4: best way I'd say to find the information or I'm
S4: happy to give out my details as well, as the
S4: Flyers will have my details on them as well, so
S4: you can reach out to me directly via email or phone.
S2: We'll get that website first before we jump into that,
S2: if that's okay.
S4: Yeah. So it's personnel group with a double n.com. Oh.
S2: Wonderful. And for people who'd like to perhaps get in
S2: touch with you, what are those details there?
S4: Yeah, I'm happy to share my email and contact number,
S4: if that's all right, to share.
S2: If you're comfortable with that. Yeah.
S4: Yeah. No, I'm more than happy to. So my direct
S4: contact number is 0432 826 771. So feel free to call or text.
S4: And if you'd like to send me an email my
S4: email address is U. Williams at personnel Group with a
S4: double n.com.au.
S2: I've been speaking today with Umbreon Williams, Business Development manager
S2: at the Allied Health Department of Personnel group. Chatting to
S2: us today about a series of information sessions coming up
S2: later this month to help people find out a little
S2: bit more about the services available to them through personnel
S2: Group in terms of NDIS plans or otherwise. Umbreon, thank
S2: you so much for your time today. It was great
S2: to have a chat with you and talk about the
S2: info sessions.
S4: No worries at all. Sam, thank you so much for
S4: having me. I really appreciate it and I feel very,
S4: very privileged to be talking to you today.
S2: And that's all the time we have for today. You've
S2: been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision
S2: Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the
S2: show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you.
S2: So please get in touch anytime on our email at
S2: Talking Vision at Vision Australia. That's talking vision all. One
S2: word at Vision Australia dot. But until next week it's
S2: Sam Corley saying bye for now.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 746
S1: or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia dot.