One-in-five Australians live with a disability, most of whom will struggle to find meaningful work. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, only 53 per cent of people living with a disability participate in the workforce, compared to 84 per cent of able-bodied people.
Working with St Lucy’s School in Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australian supermarket Coles is hoping to change that.
This week, at St Lucy’s – a school that focuses on teaching children with disabilities through primary and high school ages – Coles launched a dedicated ‘mini supermarket’, where senior students will go through guided work experience, and all students will be able to learn basic life skills such as shopping by themselves or with family members.
Coles’ head of diversity and inclusion Katie Wyatt told Inside Retail that St Lucy’s approached the supermarket with the idea of creating an environment to offer students some real-world experience in a familiar environment.
“[Our] vision is to get these children to a place where they are confident and ready for the workplace,” Wyatt said.
“Plus, St Lucy’s curriculum includes teaching the kids about handling money, so the store will provide a practical environment that can double as a classroom.”
The supermarket fitout includes plenty of Coles features – with a working point of sale, wide aisles, trolleys, a RedCycle recycling bin, and products ready to be stacked on shelves and priced. Items can actually be bought and sold by the students to staff and families and all sales will go directly to the school.
“We’re absolutely thrilled. It’s a great example of how well local partnerships can work,” Wyatt said.
“This didn’t start from the top, it started with the local Coles team, and being at the launch and watching it, our team got as much out of it as the school and students did.”
“We’re trying to break that culture down”
This is not the first time Coles has led initiatives to support people with disabilities.
The supermarket giant regularly works with Disability Works Australia, which helps find potential candidates for jobs within the business. Meanwhile, Coles also welcomes interns from the Australian Network on Disability each year. At the moment, around 3 per cent of Coles staff have disabilities.
And, earlier this year, Coles launched RecruitAble in partnership with Get Skilled Access, an organisation formed by Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott.
RedcruitAble is a government-backed pilot designed and delivered by people with disabilities to build confidence, create more inclusive workplaces, and create more accessible practices in the hiring process.
As part of the pilot, Coles dedicated eight roles in technology within its support centres to people with a disability.
“We’re trying to normalise the experience for everyone involved, and build up the confidence in our team. There are unknowns that stop a lot of people from hiring someone with a disability and we’re trying to break that culture down,” Wyatt said.
The post How an in-school supermarket teaches kids with disabilities life skills appeared first on Inside Retail.
