Okay back in Late March my dad's partner suggested I work in a local 'supported' workplace called Peter Harcourt Industries, her idea was for me to get an idea of what working in a paid job is like. Supported workplaces in Australia have been reformed to function like regular businesses, they employ people on the disability support pension, although a lot of the people in these days are mentally handicapped.
Peter Harcourt Industries is just one division of Peter Harcourt Disability Services
http://www.phs.org.au/, it caters for people who are intellectually handicapped for the most part. Although a few who work in the companies of Peter Harcourt Disability Services, aren't mentally handicapped and have other disabilities.
Well I started work there for two days a week in Early April, for the first three months I was on a trail period, now I am a permanent worker working three days a week instead of 2, my goal is to work eventually five days a week. I am still on the trail wage of $5 a day until a government assessor something this month comes to assess me to figure out how much I should be paid.
The jobs I do at work are things like collating catalogues, packing things like pottery feet in boxes, gluing boxes together, shrink wrapping and inserting letters into envelopes. I've done some other jobs as well, but I can't remember what they are from the top of my head.
So far I have been a pretty good worker there, I occasionally make mistakes and forget what is said by my managers. However I seem to be regarded a competent worker.
The people I work with are nearly all people who are mentally handicapped, this has made me into a much more nicer, accepting and understanding person than I used to be. I have not gotten really close to anybody, but I could change soon and it would be nice for me to have RL 'friends' rather than people I am just friendly with.
A sideffect of my work, is a lot of social activities are advertised via work and people from work participate in them. So far I have done some Special Olympics ten pin bowling (have not done that in two or three months, I have to decide if I want to go back) and started playing baseball in a program for 'Special' people. Those are just a couple social things I have done, including attending the Peter Harcourt monthly discos twice and planning on going to a dinner dance held by Murray Human Services
http://www.murrayhumanservices.org.au/ in town of Echuca next month.
I do say that working there has had it's downsides, namely the antics of the people I work with get on my nerves (I am not particularly playful and do not share the sense of humor the others I work with have) and that my current work I feel is not going to help very much to getting into a job in a accounting field (I am still doing the diploma of accounting at TAFE, right now I've decided I am not going back to university next year, I could but I am not.)
Feel free to ask any questions you want answered.
