Lake Macquarie City Council has become the first Council in the region to join Castle Personnel’s Inclusive 100 initiative that aims to increase employment and the social inclusion of people living with disability.
In joining the inclusive 100, Council has made the pledge to hire more people with disability.
Council joins the likes of other Hunter organisations including Hunter Water, the Hunter Business Chamber, Crown Plaza Hunter Valley and the Belmont 16s to name just a few.
Lake Macquarie Mayor Cr Kay Fraser accepted an Inclusive 100 plaque, with Council’s CEO Morven Cameron, and was proud that Council can support a wonderful Hunter based movement.
“We have some 11,500 people living with disability in Lake Macquarie, so it is fantastic that we can join with sixty other Hunter based organisations and help improve employment opportunities and inclusion for our residents,” Kay said.
“In general, the participation and employment of people with a disability in Australia is fairly low. But we know there are huge benefits in making our communities more inclusive.
“We all have a role to play in improving employment opportunities, as well as the health and wellbeing of people with disability, and this is one-way Council can show our support and take action,” she said.
CEO of Castle Personnel, Dianne Hamer, expressed her gratitude to Lake Macquarie City Council for becoming part of the movement.
“We are delighted to have Lake Macquarie City Council join our Inclusive 100 movement. We now have over sixty local businesses supporting this initiative, which raises awareness of the challenges faced by people with disability, health condition or injury when looking for and keeping a job,” Dianne said.
Council’s CEO, Morven Cameron, said that she was excited by the potential for the organisation to take tangible actions to help support residents from across the Hunter living with disability.
“We are one of the largest employers in the region with a diverse workforce of more than 1200 employees. We also have a variety of roles and career opportunities, so it makes sense for us to be involved in a wonderful local initiative,” Morven said.
“We’re also proud to be the first Council to join the Inclusive 100 in the Hunter. Councils have a unique role in our communities, and we’re committed to being an inclusive and accessible city for people of all abilities.
“This also aligns with our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Diversity Management Plan, which has been designed to help break down barriers for those with disability, including supporting access to meaningful employment,” Morven continued.
Council will continue with the implementation of several initiatives from our EEO and resourcing strategy, including identifying people with disability as a key employment target group, working with disability employment and support agencies, and encouraging other organisations to join the Inclusive 100 initiative.
To follow by the Council’s example, or to find out more about the Inclusive 100 initiative, information is available on their website.
IMAGE | Castle Personnel CEO Dianne Hamer, Lake Macquarie Mayor Cr Kay Fraser, Council CEO Morven Cameron and Castle employee Jonathan. (left-right)
