Minister launches myWAY Employability

Published
26 Oct 2023

Minister for Social Services, the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP, announced the launch of myWAY Employability's new and improved functionality and resources at an event in Adelaide on Thursday 26 October.

The myWAY Employability web app supports autistic people to map out and achieve their employment goals, communicate and champion their needs and strengths in the workplace, and engage successfully with employers and service providers.

“myWAY Employability is an important tool for autistic people to determine and guide their own paths to successful and sustained participation in the workforce, and we’re grateful for the Government’s support," said Autism CRC CEO, Andrew Davis.

The web app has already helped over 4,500 registered users to create a personalised career roadmap and convene a support team to help them achieve their goals. The enhanced version launched today will make exploration of career choices and team collaboration in the app even easier.

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said improving pathways into employment was a key part of supporting the hundreds of thousands of autistic Australians.

“Autistic people in our country are currently around seven times more likely to be unemployed than people without disability,” Minister Rishworth said.

The Government has supported these employment resources, along with other activities to build and improve the capacity of mainstream health and education providers to better engage with people with disability.

“We are committed to dismantling the barriers Autistic people face to accessing meaningful and sustained employment and creating inclusive workplaces," said Minister Rishworth.

This is part of broader work to drive inclusive education, increase the number of neurodiversity-inclusive Australian workplaces, and to expand and integrate inclusion and employability models.

“The Government is proud to support Autism CRC to deliver evidence-based resources to support autistic people to map out and achieve their employment goals, communicate and champion their needs and strengths in the workplace, and engage successfully with employers and service providers,” Minister Rishworth said.

Autism CRC has developed the new resources in an effort to build neurodiversity-inclusive employment understanding and capacity, for the benefit of both employees and employers.

myWAY Employablity is already a valued and successful tool for young people transitioning from school to employment and training, or indeed for neurodivergent individuals of any age looking to understand their strengths, set goals and achieve their dreams.

"These new improvements, and the exciting work underway to develop an ‘enterprise’ version means that myWAY Employability is a unique and powerful tool – bringing together employers and potential employees on a large scale to create long term successful career outcomes for autistic Australians", said Mr Davis.

In addition to myWAY, a new Self-Advocacy @​ Work online resources package is soon to launch and will be available to users from November. It includes a series of accessible multimedia tools and resources designed to equip and empower autistic individuals to better advocate for themselves in the workplace. This co-designed resource package was developed in collaboration with the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network of Australia and New Zealand.

Visit myWAY

Hon Amanda Rishworth speaks into a microphone, behind her is a construction fence and a promotional banner for myWAY Employability
A group of smiling people hold a laptop, showing the website myWAY Employability
A group of people stand together in front of a construction fence and a promotional banner for myWAY Employability

First image: Hon Amanda Rishworth MP announces the launch of myWAY Employability's new and improved functionality

Second image: From left to right, Hon Amanda Rishworth MP, Associate Professor Marina Ciccarelli, Liam Picen, Hon Emily Bourke MP.

Third image: From left to right, Associate Professor Marina Ciccarelli, Liam Picen, Hon Emily Bourke MP, Malcolm Mayfield, Hon Emily Bourke MP, Andrew Davis.