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Barista James Thriving at IDP Education – (aimbigemployment.com.au)

Working with local businesses to find job seekers meaningful employment is a rewarding role as we can strengthen ties between members and organisations in the community. We endeavour to create a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship between all parties so that our job seekers can find fulfilling work and our employers tap into a pool of talented workers.

A relationship we would like to highlight is that of James, 7 Grams of Coffee and IDP Education.

7 Grams of Coffee is a coffee machine supplier that provides tailored coffee machine packages across Melbourne. In addition to delivering machines, their equipment comes with a barista for businesses to enjoy in-house brewed coffee. One of these coffee machines was placed in IDP Education in early 2021, an education organisation offering student placements around the world.

AimBig has developed a lasting and meaningful relationship with 7 Grams of Coffee, whereby passionate job coach Tony Fretton reached out to introduce the company to James, a job seeker looking for work. James was encouraged to interview and was successful in landing the in-house barista role at IDP Education.

James came to AimBig Employment in November of 2019 and lives with an intellectual disability. Since James is a high functioning person living with disability, it has been difficult for him to find opportunities as employers don’t understand his unique needs. James had undergone training through BusyBeans, an AimBig program that assists job seekers with disability in building the knowledge and specialised skills to become quality baristas. In the peak of Covid-19, the program was forced to shut down, leaving hopeful job seekers such as James out of work until businesses returned to normal.

Since working at IDP Education, James has received many compliments about his strong work ethic and his excellent coffee. His day to day activities include setting up the workstation, stocktaking, cleaning, taking orders and serving 100+ staff and more.

Although he is shy and a quiet achiever, James has quickly become an asset to the business and a favourite amongst the employees. James is fortunate to have been taken on by IDP Education through 7 Grams of Coffee, finding the workplace culture welcoming and staff are happy to have him on board, and has even joined the IT Recycling Program of the organisation.

A key reason of the success in placing James in IDP Education is the post placement support offered to the business, where Tony is able to regularly check in and ensure James has settled in.

We talked to Tony about James’ progress:

“James is a hardworking young man and has not let his disability stop him from giving everything a go. I am fortunate to have been part of the process of finding James employment, as I find it rewarding to watch job seekers such as James succeed under organisations that are willing to give people with disability a chance.

Since working for IDP Education, James has become more confident and is happier, and has made himself a valued employee through his hard work. IDP Education has been fantastic in creating an inclusive environment for James to work in.

A great part about having a person with disability in workplaces such as IDP Education is to break barriers to employment, and I have received feedback that the success he has had in his role has started the conversation about empowering more job seekers with disability to come and work at IDP Education.”

We are fortunate to have a long lasting and positive relationship with 7 Grams of Coffee and IDP Education and look forward to assisting these businesses in creating opportunities for success for individuals living with disability.

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Looking to recruit hard-working, passionate staff with a managed disability? Get in touch with us today: https://www.aimbigemployment.com.au/employers/