History and help at Workbridge

AFFINITY: Amanda Crossan and Jan Lawton of Workbridge say they love their century-old workplace.PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY 021214WCBRCWOR01

Amanda Crossan and Jan Lawton love working in the 100-year-old St John's post office building in Victoria Ave.

The Workbridge employment consultants say they have an affinity with the Edwardian brick building - which dates from 1914 - because it is of a similar age to their organisation. Even though the building has long ceased to be a working post office, the occasional visitor arrives looking to post a letter.

"A elderly man once came in wanting to post something and it was one of those lottery scam letters, so I suggested he post it in the shredder machine over there," said Mrs Lawton.

Workbridge has its origins in the Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment League that once provided rehabilitation support for the servicemen and women who were disabled in the South African War and World War I.

Now government-funded and open to support all people with disabilities, the organisation was previously funded by the NZ Army and then the RSA.

"The first major change happened in 1969, when the service opened up to include anyone with a disability, and it was named the Rehabilitation League," said Mrs Lawton. "Then in 1990, the organisation was re-named Workbridge Incorporated and emerged as a dedicated employment agency specifically for people with disabilities."

Along with the change has come recognition of disabilities that are not obvious to the casual observer and Workbridge's role is to find placements that are suitable for their clients. "A person with asthma, for instance, will not be able to work in a place where there is sawdust around or they probably couldn't work in a cold store facility," Mrs Crossan said. "My role is to talk to people and assess their work readiness, and help them create or update their CVs, while Jan's role is to work with employers to find opportunities."

Once people are in work, the support continues for three months or longer if needed, and Workbridge is able to apply for funding from the Ministry of Social Development for funding to supply specialised equipment to the worker and in some cases the workplace.

Mrs Lawton assisted Mark Hood into a job at Wanganui business Pacific Helmets last year, after Mr Hood had struggled with work after losing an arm in a motorbike racing accident. "Mark had been in the job for about three months, when he found that he was putting a lot of strain on his good arm while using one of the machines. He thought about how it could be improved and MSD agreed to fund a modified version. Now the other workers there find it easier to use as well, so it has had unexpected benefits," said Mrs Crossan.

Mrs Lawton said it is "still a bit of a hard sell" to find placements for people with disabilities but the feedback is very good. "Employers have reported excellent attendance, safety awareness and attitude amongst employees with disabilities."