Appliance Repair Care managing director Njela Turia could not be happier with the services of employee Tyler Cashmore.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Appliance Repair Care managing director Njela Turia could not be happier with the services of employee Tyler Cashmore.
Photo / Bevan Conley
While many of his contemporaries are completing tertiary studies and thinking about career paths, Whanganui 20-year-old Tyler Cashmore is working at his dream job and has recently become a dad.
His employers, Njela and Pahia Turia at Appliance Repair Care (ARC), could not be more pleased with his performance andthe astounding part of the story is that Cashmore lost a leg in a traffic accident two years ago.
Workbridge employment consultant Jan Lawton said it is "an incredible story of employment success" for all concerned.
"Tyler left school at the end of 2017 with some good skills in computing and customer service and had his future mapped out," Lawton said.
When he signed up with Workbridge for help to find work, Cashmore was still recovering and had only just learned to walk with a prosthetic leg, and Lawton anticipated that it would not be easy to find an employer willing to give him a chance.
"After meeting with Workbridge and a discussion regarding the Ministry of Social Development Mainstream Programme, Njela and Pahia interviewed Tyler and identified his potential for their business."
With a background in youth work, Njela Turia immediately wanted to help but said there were some reservations.
"We were creating a new position and we discussed it with our staff to see what their thoughts were and there were some concerns about the fast-paced work life here," she said.
"Staff do have to move about quickly and we needed to assure ourselves and Tyler that he would manage okay.
"A year on and he is doing really well - moving smaller appliances around with no difficulty and he will ask customers to wait while he gets help to move larger items."
Cashmore is now completing cell phone repairs and Turia said he is brilliant with customers.
Jan Lawton with Derek Cook, Dene McGonigle and Frank Oskam of Axiam Plastics Ltd, another local employer that has assisted Workbridge in showing inclusive employment practice.
Photo / Bevan Conley
For Workbridge it is a great example of how someone with a disability can make themselves a workplace asset when an employer is willing to give them a chance, Lawton said.
"Just over 12 months on Tyler is proving to be all that they hoped for and not only have his confidence and work skills grown but he and his partner are now parents to a beautiful baby boy.
"This has been a match made in heaven for all concerned."
Baby Ashton is 13 weeks old and Cashmore said he anticipates that his family and work life will soon become even more manageable.
"I've been fitted for a new leg and when I have that I'll be able to run and walk upstairs easily," he said.
"I'll have to take leave and go to Wellington for a final fitting and then get used to walking with it."
Now he is no longer the new kid on the block at work and will be able to help others learn the ropes.
Lawton said Workbridge extended appreciation to ARC and several other Whanganui employers willing to think outside the box to be inclusive.
"We encourage jobseekers with health or disability issues, and employers who are invested in helping to build a more inclusive society, to contact us."
Workbridge Whanganui is at 69G Taupo Quay, or contact Jan Lawton on 021 190 1803 to arrange a meeting.
