Tara Puapii struggled to find work in Whanganui until Workbridge helped find her perfect job with GPSOS. Photo / Supplied
Tara Puapii struggled to find work in Whanganui until Workbridge helped find her perfect job with GPSOS. Photo / Supplied
While many disabled workers face a range of barriers to finding paid employment, a Whanganui-based company has been actively removing the roadblocks.
GPSOS, a company supplying independence alarms with 24-hour monitoring, has recruited 80 per cent of its 32 staff members through Workbridge employment service.
Mark Simmonds founded GPSOS ayear ago and has worked with Workbridge's Jan Lawton to recruit staff with the right abilities.
"My belief is that if someone has an ability, they deserve an opportunity," Simmonds said.
"We have a dedicated and loyal workforce who always arrive early for their shifts and do a great job."
The most recent intake of eight employees are working remotely from different parts of New Zealand and they all trained and started work during Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown.
Chief operations manager Scott Lee has supplied the training from Hamilton where he was visiting when Covid-19 level 4 began.
"We completed the training via Zoom meetings and now they are all working from home," Lee said.
"Staff who have disabilities themselves are very quick learners because they understand the clients' needs readily."
Scott Lee (second left at top) training GPSOS workers during Covid-19 lockdown. Photo / Supplied
The purpose of the alarms is to enhance people's freedom and help them build the confidence to safely navigate the world.
While Lee has been training the new recruits, the Whanganui team has continued to work on-site where there is plenty of space for social distancing requirements as well as hydraulic lifts, adjustable chairs and a modified desk to accommodate workers' disabilities.
Workers cover three shifts each day to provide 24-hour monitoring.
Tara Puapii works the night shift at GPSOS and says she loves her job and her co-workers.
"People enjoy my energy and my smile and I'm so pleased to be here because it took me three years to find a job," Puapii said.
"I moved to Whanganui from Rarotonga with my family four years ago and it was hard to experience my first winter and then have trouble finding work."
Things changed when she signed up with Workbridge and Jan Lawton scheduled job interviews.
"Jan kept calling to say I had a job interview and I was so happy when I was offered this job."
She studied te reo Māori while looking for work and is now able to speak to GPSOS clients in three languages.
Lawton said an employer like GPSOS was "a match made in heaven" for workers with disabilities because its focus was on their skills and strengths.
She presented the company with an Above and Beyond employer award last year and said she was thrilled it was expanding its service to offer employment to more workers with disabilities.
"We hope it will encourage other employers to follow their example because we have more workers with abilities to share."
GPSOS alarms are New Zealand designed and made.
There are a GP7.0 watch model and the GP1000 pendant, which provide two-way communication, the person's location within 10 metres, as well as fall detection and other features.
Simmonds, who has worked in security for more than 40 years, was inspired to procure a robust personal alarm after he learned a friend's father was unable to activate his standard medical pendant when he suffered a stroke.
The company is launching a crowdfunding initiative which will invite members of the public to make contributions and become shareholders.
"We want to grow the company and give people the opportunity to become shareholders and support workers with disabilities while investing in a product that gives people independence," Lee said.
