Employer Innovation Lab
The Employer Innovation Lab – Young People with Disability is an innovative project between Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) and Social Ventures Australia (SVA) to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of employers to employ more young people with disability in their workplaces.
It was launched in August 2024 and supported a group of eight Victorian employers to improve access and provide quality jobs.
What was involved?
As part of the Lab, participating employers were invited to a two-day immersive workshop with knowledge and lived experience experts from CYDA and SVA.
Young people with disability also joined as youth consultants, providing important insights and lived experiences.
Following the ideas and learnings from this Lab, employers developed a ‘pilot’ to roll out in their business.
Following the workshop, CYDA and SVA provided regular coaching to participating employers as they designed and implemented pilots allowing them to employ young people with disability into meaningful employment opportunities.
Throughout the pilot process, participating employers received support to develop, update, and refine their policies while challenging their business-as-usual (BAU) practices to create a more inclusive workplace.
They also built their understanding of disability through CYDA’s Workplace Disability Awareness and Inclusion Training.
Each of the 8 participating employers (including medium and large businesses, councils and state government departments) were challenged to hire at least one young person with disability by the end of the program.
The next step was scale. Creating a case study and reviewing the learnings and progress of each organisation would allow them to later expand their pilots and better equip them to employ more young people with disability in the future.
Supporting disabled young people in work
As a systemic advocacy organisation, CYDA supports employment for young people with disability through its advocacy, submissions and programs
Our approach is three-pronged:
- supporting young people with disability to feel confident engaging in the workforce;
- supporting government to ensure legislation and initiatives which promote the employment of young people with disability, and;
- supporting organisations to build their policies, confidence and practical skillsets to employ young people with disability.
Voices on work report
As part of the Employer Innovation Lab, we supported a study on young people with disability’s experiences trying to access good quality work.
This study report shows that employers are key to helping young people with disability to find, stay, and thrive at work.
The young people with disability who participated offered several recommendations for how employers can do this:
- Encourage young people with disability to apply and ensure they feel safe and supported throughout recruitment.
- Ensure managers know what ‘good’ looks like and are supported to learn new behaviours.
- Proactively address ignorance in the workplace culture about people with disability
Impact and insights
Since launching the Employer Innovation Lab – Young People with Disability in August 2024, CYDA and SVA have supported eight Victorian employers to improve their workplace inclusion through intensive workshops, tailored coaching, lived experience storytelling and more.
Learn about how participating in the Lab translated to real change by checking out these case studies:
In June 2025, CYDA and SVA also joined some participating employers, and independent researchers who evaluated the project, to share key lessons and insights in an online webinar.
Watch the session recording for free below.
Want to learn more?
You may also be interested in our DREAM Network Employer Resources for both employers and young people with disability, developed through CYDA’s DREAM Network.
If you would like to learn more about the Employer Innovation Lab – Young People with Disability, CYDA’s Workplace Disability Awareness and Inclusion Training, or CYDA’s work supporting employers to make their organisations more accessible for young people with disability, please reach out to our Youth Action Team by emailing [email protected] or by calling us on (03) 9417 1025.
This project is supported by funding from the Australian Government through the Local Jobs Program.
How to discuss workplace adjustments: a quick guide
When it comes to disability inclusion, what really matters is how an organisation’s policies show up in practice – and whether they actually support your people.
This guide is here to help you move beyond a ‘problems and solutions’ mindset. It’s about recognising individual needs, opening up conversations, and creating a workplace where inclusion is part ofeveryday work life.
We’ll walk you through:
- What disability means in a workplace context
- How to talk about adjustments in a way that builds trust
- The types of adjustments that can make a real difference
- Where to go for help when you nd itee