When formal training and years of experience still don’t lead to ongoing work – Ashleigh Keating writes about the struggle to find stable employment as a young person with disability.
My professional journey has been a bit of a strange one. I tried to work a little bit while in high school, but I couldn’t really handle juggling school and work. It wasn’t really until I became a qualified Teacher Aide in 2019 that I got a real taste of working. During TAFE, I was told I would likely work casually for a short period of time, but get some sort of permanency very quickly.
At first, working casually was convenient. Being able to choose when I wanted to work helped me to manage my workload when things were getting too much for me. The casual rate as a 19–22-year-old was great. There were also downsides. I would sometimes only get two hours’ notice that I would be working – as an autistic person, this last-minute change was never fun. I would also go through long periods of not working because of things like school holidays and lockdowns.
I was constantly looking for part or full-time jobs so I would be able to secure stable work. I was never able to achieve this. Whenever I interviewed for a more stable role, I would always lose out to someone else – usually someone significantly older than me – which was always quite hard. I was told I needed to gain more experience, but they never explained what this experience should be. I was working nearly non-stop as a casual assistant. Shouldn’t that have been enough?
I eventually left my work in education, but the term ‘not enough experience’ still follows me when I try to apply for stable work in other areas. It’s getting to the stage now where I can’t help but think: What does it actually take for me to get stable work? I’m constantly told by family members, who are a lot older than me, that if I put in the effort, I will be rewarded with more stable work.
I am grateful for the casual work I have been able to obtain. It has led to some fantastic opportunities that I never thought I would be able to get, like being able to go to the United Nations to represent my country and being able to tell stories that reach people at a national level around the issues autistic people face. But what am I supposed to do when those opportunities end? Do the opportunities I have been able to obtain not equate to the magical ‘experience’ that I apparently need to get a stable job? Why is it still not happening? What is it going to take?
I don’t like talking myself up, but I know I’m a good worker. I’m frequently told so by employers. But whenever I try to push myself in these places to get stable employment, I’m never successful.
Going through these conflicting experiences for such a long time has left me feeling frustrated. I’m following the advice, so why aren’t things working in my favour? Am I doing something wrong that only the neurotypicals can pick up on, but I can’t?
Many years ago, it was the case that, if you did well by the company you worked at, you would be rewarded, but that doesn’t seem to happen now. Young people deserve to have stable employment; to be able move up in the world. We shouldn’t have to be in this constant battle trying to find stable work.
I really want to stress; I am grateful for the casual work I have been able to obtain. It has led to some fantastic opportunities that I never thought I would be able to get, like being able to go to the United Nations to represent my country and being able to tell stories that reach people at a national level around the issues autistic people face. But what am I supposed to do when those opportunities end? Do the opportunities I have been able to obtain not equate to the magical ‘experience’ that I apparently need to get a stable job? Why is it still not happening? What is it going to take?
Perhaps I am taking what was told to me at TAFE and by my family a little bit too seriously, but if putting in the effort, and putting yourself out there to potential employers, does not work, then what are young people supposed to do to further our chosen careers?
If employers are serious when it comes to getting young and/or disabled people into the workforce, then there needs to be a conscious effort to get those who are working casually, or have recently completed a qualification, into stable employment. We shouldn’t have to settle for going in constant circles because employers don’t think about pathways to stable work for casuals, or are too scared to bring young people into their companies.
If the future is really for young people, and we are going to be the drive for change in the areas we work, then let us in.
This blog was written as part of CYDA’s DREAM Employment Network. You can find out more about the Network here.
About the author:
Ashleigh is a university student majoring in international relations. She is passionate about advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, especially in education.
