By Rajesh Singh
Senior technology reporter
Special assistive technology at Naturally Baking means a lot to the local company, but especially to Fred Parsons, one of the pickers.
Five years ago, Fred Parsons was unemployed. Fred had been unemployed for much of his life – not through any lack of desire to work, but because he is disabled. Fred had been turned down for many jobs, and employers often told him they couldn’t hire him because of health and safety issues.
Despite these difficulties, Fred continued to strive for full and meaningful employment. He has been a volunteer for many organisations, and assisted with distribution through charitable organisations.
Local company Naturally Baking was expanding, but was having difficulty finding workers with the right skills and attitudes. There had been a long period of full employment, and people were leaving small towns in New Zealand to venture into the wider world. Based in a smaller centre, Naturally Baking wanted to become an employer of choice, but this was not entirely successful.
Fred had applied for a couple of positions with the company, but their recruitment team had not been able to find the right job for him. In keeping with their commitment to being a responsible social organisation, Naturally Baking found Fred volunteer work with Independence Inc.
At the time, Independence Inc was trialling an innovative assistive technology. Impressed by its possibilities, they ran a number of initiatives within the work environment. Once they had proved the technology, they set out to convince employers of the potential benefits.
Independence Inc is now pleased to be able to report success in finding employment for disabled people such as Fred.
Naturally Baking’s General Manager Lynne Peters said the approach from Independence Inc came at just the right time.
‘It was quite fortuitous really. We needed more staff members, and there were several in the community who couldn’t manage the work requirements. Then our friends at Independence trialled this new technology, which made such a difference. We now have a number of disabled staff, and there are no more health and safety issues than there would be for those who are able-bodied. We are already talking to our head office at Overbaking about these technologies.’
Is this a breakthrough for inclusion in the workplace? And all because of technology.
