Emily Smith once believed a job was out of the picture in her future. Today she’s in two roles, showing disability inclusion at work makes a real difference.
For neurodiverse adults and people with disabilities, securing paid work can prove to be a challenge.
This used to be the case for 24-year-old Emily Smith, who didn’t think getting into employment was even an option for her.
“I never really looked for work because I wasn’t confident that I could find a job,” says Emily.
“I thought that people would choose not to hire me, or give me chance, if I said I was autistic.”
Emily says she wants to live independently one day, but she didn’t know how without an income.
“It really did knock my confidence a bit when I didn’t believe I could get employment.”
Creating Truly Inclusive Workplaces
But see, this is the heartbreaking reality people with disabilities have had to face (not because it’s their fault, but because of the lack of supportive and inclusive learning spaces and workplaces that will allow them to thrive!).
According to a 2023 IHC report – Health and Wellbeing Indicators for New Zealanders with Intellectual Disabilities – people with intellectual disabilities experience a lot of poor health and living outcomes.
The report revealed people with disabilities have low-levels of employment – with only 21% of New Zealanders with intellectual disabilities in paid work, compared with 78% of the general population.
That gap unfortunately exists partly because employers lack the confidence to work with people with disabilities, and lack of truly inclusive hiring pathways.
Project Employ, a charity that helps young people with disabilities gain meaningful employment in the community, is working hard to bridge that gap and help create truly inclusive workplaces.
In 2022, it opened the Flourish Cafe in Takapuna – the first training cafe for youth with intellectual disabilities and learning differences – and later opened another branch at the Air New Zealand building.
Both cafes run two training programmes every year for eight trainees at a time, where trainees are encouraged to self-identify the skills they want and need to learn and develop. It ranges from customer experience, time management, working with a team and sales.
The training is also individualised for each trainee because a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. They all have different ways of learning, developing and executing their skills.
Once the trainees graduate, they get further support to land employment such as writing a CV, learning how to interview well and connecting them with trusted employers.
Project Employ graduates have successfully gotten employment at Hilton Auckland, The Hotel Britomart, Fonterra and Dutton Stormwater.
Hope for More Disability-Friendly Workplaces
Emily was part of the first-ever training programme in 2022. For someone who once believed she wouldn’t get a job, not only was she offered one, but two jobs through Project Employ.
Now, she’s the cafe assistant at the Flourish Cafe in Takapuna and a youth ambassador for the charity.
She says Project Employ’s work has been truly life changing, and it’s given her more confidence not just in her current roles, but in future jobs as well.
Emily has thrived in a truly inclusive workplace, simply because “a great organisation has given her a chance.”
“I hope that eventually, more and more [employers] will be open to the idea of having a disability- and neurodivergent-friendly workplace.
“Maybe give the person a chance and what they individually are able to do rather than taking a look at their disability, and be like, no we can’t hire you.”
How You Can Help
As much as Project Employ would LOVE to take on more trainees per training programme (they recently had 21 applications but can only take on eight trainees), they need more resources.
Project Employ is throwing a dinner and auction fundraiser on 21 March 2026 at the Hilton Hotel. More details here. You can also contact them for other ways to support.
If you’re an employer eager to build a more inclusive workforce, you can also reach out to Project Employ for help and ongoing support. More details here.
