FAQ: School Leaver Employment Supports

We deliver SLES NDIS through individual, group, on-site and off-site supports which focus on you, and how you can achieve your goals.

Your short and long term goals will be clearly identified in a personalised plan and you will have dedicated support from a AKG consultant, as well as access to a Health Services Officer.

Support sessions might include practical training around planning travel so you can get to and from a workplace independently, work experience with an employer that can give you insights and experience in an industry that interests you, job search supports around preparing your resume, developing job applications and job interview training or activities to grow your communication, social skills and overall confidence.

It’s important to remember that with AKG, your plan will be unique to you and these are just a few examples of supports that could set you on the path to achieve your goals.

As a Year 12 student with disability, you may be eligible for either Disability Employment Services (changing to Inclusive Employment Australia from Nov 1) or School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES NDIS), depending on how ready you are to transition from school to work.

If you are assessed as being able to work eight hours or more per week within the next two years, you will most likely be registered to DES to help you find a job. DES supports persons with disability to get ready to look for a job, find a job, and keep a job and are generally more ready for employment than those in SLES. DES participants who are in Year 12 can access DES ESL (Eligible School Leaver).

If you are assessed as needing more support through capacity building exercises to be able to work eight hours per week, you may be eligible for SLES to support your transition from school to work.

SLES is a NDIS-funded individualised service for up to two years, and may include supports to build your confidence, independent living, and vocational skills. Over this time, SLES prepares participants to be ready for DES and ultimately for work.

Yes! As one of Australia’s largest providers of disability employment services, we have strong connections with employers in over 250 locations. We have employers from a wide range of industries who are keen to provide work experience opportunities to all young people.

Typically work experience placements last for six to eight weeks and provide you with the opportunity to rotate through a number of industry relevant placements building capacity and skills.

Not only do they offer real world work experience opportunities, these placements can even lead to long term employment opportunities.

It is only after we spend time getting to know you through the initial phase of the SLES Program that we can recommend particular supports for you. From this an individual plan will be developed for you, outlining the steps we can take together to achieve your short-term and long-term goals.

Your goals may change as you become more confident and informed about what your future opportunities may be. Your individualised Participant Plan can be updated at any time to reflect these changes.

Some examples of supports that we may recommend for you could include:

• One on one appointments and supports
• Group supports and activities
• Travel/transport planning and training
• Industry-relevant work experience
• Independent activities such as online study
• Risk assessments with work experience employers
• Resume writing skills
• Improving communication skills, social skills, and financial literacy
• Support to successfully complete any study that is in progress.

Our office hours are from 8.30am-5pm, Monday to Friday, however there can be some flexibility around this based on the SLES participant’s needs, particularly if additional support is required during work experience placements.

We provide both one-to-one and group support to achieve both the participant’s individual needs and the group’s goals.

Our individual appointments are very outcome focussed and set clear directions for participants. Our group sessions are designed to provide opportunities for social interaction, confidence building and sharing of success stories and challenges between each of our SLES participants. This supports the participant by showing them that they are not alone during the SLES Program.

All of our NDIS staff, including those working with SLES participants, have a minimum of two years’ experience with Disability Employment Services and/or qualifications as a Disability Support Worker, Social Worker, Welfare Worker, or Aboriginal Health Worker.

AKG encourages all participants who are interested in the SLES program to come and meet one of our AKG consultants. We want you to ensure you are comfortable with your consultant and feel welcome within the AKG office environment prior to signing a service agreement with us. We look forward to meeting you.