Safeguarding the future conference - Canberra, 23-24 May 2024

Julia Shumaker

We are excited to welcome Julia to the Get That Good Life! conference. Julia will be presenting about employment and will discuss her role as a Job Coach.

About Julia

Julia Shumaker portrait

Julia Shumaker is in her early 20s, a good friend to many, and a vibrant member of her community. She has a keen interest in teaching and supporting people to thrive. Julia has been working alongside Jack Kruger in various roles over the last 4 ½ years. One of her most impactful roles has been as Jack’s job mentor.

Julia has been learning about customised employment through workshops and mentoring. The implementation of this learning has resulted in some wonderful employment outcomes for Jack.

As well as working with Jack, Julia runs her own small business. She is a member of a local dance studio and enjoys being outside with nature.

Julia’s Presentation

Getting a Good Start in a Good Job

An Example of Open Employment Using Some Customised Employment Principles

Presented by Jack Kruger, Jan Kruger, Julia Shumaker, and Milton Tyree

Much has been learned through the years about open employment. There is much evidence that shows what works and what doesn’t work. When the well-established guiding principles of customised employment are applied, desirable results are likely to follow.

In this presentation, we will look at how a local family applied these principles in the workplace.

Jack Kruger, a recent school-leaver, will provide an overview of his work roles over the years. He’ll explain how these have led to him securing employment at Government House in Canberra.

Then Jan Kruger, Jack’s mum, and Julia Shumaker, Jack’s job mentor, will describe the process of developing Jack’s Government House job. They will explain

  • how they worked with the employer to define Jack’s responsibilities
  • the nature of Jack’s relationships with his co-workers, including their instructional roles
  • adjustments that the employer made to help Jack learn and master his role, and
  • lessons learned along the way.

Finally, Milton Tyree will connect Jack’s story with the customised employment principles that he described in his pre-conference webinar. There will be time for comments and questions.

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