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

Essential Customised Employment resources

Welcome to the starting point for families exploring Customised Employment. If you’re looking to grasp the fundamentals of Customised Employment or preparing to join our Customised Employment Peer Group, you’re in the right place.

We’ve assembled these essential resources to give you a solid grounding in Customised Employment principles and practices and help you determine if Customised Employment is the right fit for your family.

We suggest watching the videos in the order listed to build your understanding step by step. Altogether, the videos will take just over 2.5 hours to watch. Bookmark this page for quick reference.

On this page, you’ll find:

  • Case Study: The Research Technician (4 minutes) – See Customised Employment in action through Gus’s role at CSIRO
  • Customised Employment Explained (7 minutes) – An animated introduction ideal for sharing with your support circle, educators, and prospective employers. (Available January 2024)
  • Co-creating employment with Discovery (93 minutes) – Delve into the Discovery, the essential first step in Customised Employment
  • Customised Employment: What it is and what it is not (65 minutes) – Understand how Customised Employment is different from traditional employment models,

You are also welcome to go deeper and explore more resources on our Customised Employment resource page.

If, after watching these videos, you’re interested in joining our Customised Employment Peer Group, please complete this application form.

Let’s get to work: The Research Technician

Video thumbnail showing a young research technician working alongside his workplace champion in the lab

It’s been a busy time for 19-year-old Gus since finishing his Year 12 Certificate in 2018. In March 2019 he started working at the CSIRO as a Research Technician. It’s an important role that involves maintaining stocks of sterile glassware for use by research scientists and other tasks critical to the compliance and safe operations of the lab. He works five mornings a week and is paid award wages.

Gus is supported by a team of carefully selected Mentors who help him work towards his goal of moving into his own home. Gus has been an NDIS participant since 2015.

Watch Let’s get to work: The Research Technician 

Customised Employment Explained

This resource will be available in January 2024.

Co-creating employment with Discovery

Portrait of Milton TyreeThis webinar was presented by Milton Tyree, a highly-respected leader in the area of Customised Employment and frequent presenter at our workshops and conferences.

In this 93-minute video, you will learn

  • about the benefits of starting the employment process with the person, not the job
  • how to discover any person’s interests and potential workplace contributions – even if they communicate without words
  • about the importance of challenging conventional wisdom when it comes to disability employment
  • how to translate everyday life activities into employable traits
  • how to move from Discovery towards paid employment.

Watch Co-creating employment with Discovery

Customised Employment: What it is and what it is not

Portrait of Milton TyreeCustomised Employment is a departure from traditional approaches to employment. Authentic Customised Employment is successfully used in the United States, and interest in this approach is gaining momentum in Australia.

So we invited a US-based industry leader, Milton Tyree of Marc Gold & Associates, to demystify the term “Customised Employment” and shed light on its essential elements.

Watch Customised Employment: What it is and what it is not