Are you a student with disability, interested in support around career and life beyond university? USEP is a program worth following. Sascha, the USEP consultant here at Flinders recently provided an update on the program. Please enjoy!

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Well here we are already zooming into semester 2 so here’s an update on all things USEP.

University Specialist Employment Partnership (USEP) has been on campus now for over 3 years and still helping students with a disability with all sorts of information and support. I recently had to put some figures together and was happy to report that in that time we have recorded that at least 23% of those students that have connected with USEP have moved into work within their field of study. Some of these have been grad roles, others into industry related fields.

Exciting USEP news. I’m hosting drop in sessions again in the Commons on a Tuesday. No need to book, just “drop in”. This isn’t for long consults, it’s purely for those want to ask a quick question about USEP and what I do and how to access information and appointments. The commons is abuzz at the moment with a lot of employers in residence visits and careers related activities. See the link to events here:

https://flinders.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/TheCommons/ERkRiaO4aH5Fp50lH6FJX0sBOxhvWPO8gLWxhHn_D8x1QQ?e=OeznWl

Consults are still open at other times – bookings via Career hub.

We can talk about disability related issues, resources and linkages in and out of University as well as preparing for job search and employment and how to connect with employers.

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We are in an interesting time where many employers are engaged in wanting to diversify their workforce, so I continue to have conversations and meetings to try to encourage these employers to consider Uni students and graduates for their teams.

With this in mind, I thought it was a good time to review some resources out there for students with a disability as everyone is hopefully starting to think about their next stages, especially those that are winding up into the final stages of their study.

Of course – Career Hub.

There is so much on here and growing all the time. This includes resources, recordings, vacancies and event information. Watch this space in coming days for information about a project opportunity within a local council, specifically for a person with a disability.

The National Disability Coordination Officer (NDCO) have a lot of information about studying and working with a disability (and they facilitate the USEP program) so have a look at some of their information and recordings https://www.ndcosa.com.au/

A few resources and groups I wanted to remind students about include

1. The Human Rights Commission have released ‘IncludeAbility’ a resource to improve the employment outcomes for people with disability.  They have resources aimed at employers and individuals.  Thought it might be of interest. https://includeability.gov.au/
2. Don’t forget about the Disabilities Collective here at Flinders, a student group aimed at improving student experience https://fusa.edu.au/clubslist/57785/disabilities-collective/#:~:text=The%20Flinders%20University%20Disabilities%20Collective,opportunities%20for%20students%20with%20disabilities
3. Another source of information and support is the Disability, Inclusion and Diversity Association (DIDA). They are based out of Uni of Adelaide but are open to members from all Universities great for peer support and interaction. You can find them on all socials as dida.uoa
4. Check job and company websites as there are a lot of jobs out there at present, don’t leave the search too late. Many grad roles are closing soon for 2022 intake and there wont be opportunities opening up again til next year.

Well that’s it for now, if you are still reading. Any issues connecting via Career Hub contact Sascha the USEP Coordinator here at Flinders at sascha.lemon-spence@cbsinc.org.au