Hayley Horan:
Kia ora koutou katoa, ko Hayley Horan taku ingoa, good morning and welcome to everybody my name is Hayley Horan for those who I have not yet met, I'm the I think I can still say new CEO at Business Central New Zealand home of Wellington Chamber of Commerce. I have to say it's pretty exciting when you get community, business and government all in a room to have a really really important conversation so I'm extremely excited about the kōrero that is going to take place this morning. But before we introduce and hear from the Minister I better, with the weather conditions and everything that happens in the world, kick on some housekeeping.
So in the event of a fire please use the nearest exit and gather either out on Lampton Quay or at the car park entrances on Warring Taylor or Johnson Street. If there's an earthquake stay inside and move away from the windows. The women's toilets are by the kitchen and the men's are through the corridor and to the left.
As I've said we are absolutely privileged to have leaders from across business, government and our regional communities here today and I would like to acknowledge some of our very special guests. Sir Brian Roche is here the Public Service Commissioner and I know that we are all very proud to have you in the room. Sir Brian for all that you have done for our incredible country, Ginny Badderley is the CEO of Whai Kaha Ministry of Disabled People.
No? No? Okay, Paula Tisarero, thank you, a mental note from my team, you get things right, they're really good. Her ExcAllency Adelta Rodriguez, Ambassador of Timor-Leste and Deputy Mayor of Kapiti Coast, Martin Halliday. Matt Prosser, CEO of Wellington City Council, he's been rather busy I suspect over the past few days and the incredible Katherine Rich, the CEO of Business New Zealand.
We also have Mark Aldershaw, I think we do in the house, CEO of Wellington New Zealand and of course none of this is possible without the support of our sponsors. So today I would like to thank Allen + Clarke for the continued support on our Beehive to Breakfast series. Now I would like Jason Carpenter to come from Allen + Clarke and introduce the Minister.
Jason Carpenter:
Kia ora koutou and thank you Hayley. I'm Jason Carpenter, I'm the Director of Business Development at Allen + Clarke New Zealand and it's a pleasure to be here today with you all and as remarked to Charlotte on the way and I think it's the most people I've had so early which really speaks to the interest in this topic and I think also the fact that there's a panel today which I'm really excited about so something a little bit different which is perfect for the topic. For those who don't know Allen + Clarke, so we're a consultancy that ensures complex high stakes decisions are made with evidence, defended with confidence and built to work for the people and communities affected and so again today something that really speaks to what we're about as an organisation.
So we specialise in strategy, change management, evaluation of policy just to name a few and really focus on impact rather than deliverables and so we're really proud to sponsor this series and you know we feel that these conversations do matter because while the geography distance between business and beehive is really short there's often a conceptual leap that doesn't always translate into practice so having everyone in the same room is something really important for making sure that you know all the perspectives are heard and understood and so then today's topic in particular you know how businesses can better support disabled neurodiverse New Zealanders to maximise the potential for themselves and the workforce more generally is one that sits right in that space and so one of the things when we work in this space like one of the strategic underpinnings matter massively so if you if you look at this from a welfare perspective you know think support, safety nets, you end up with one set of initiatives if you think about business and what people need to succeed in the workplace you end up with another set and so while they're both well intentioned the outcomes may be the exact same the way that they look feel and design are quite different so really really excited to hear the discussion today and so I understand we have a panel today so we have a minister who is several very closely linked hats which is very you know exciting today and also a panel of people with lived experience as well as business in the room so really an opportunity to have a discussion about this so with that it's my pleasure to introduce our guest speaker so the Honourable Louise Upston is Minister for Social Development and Employment, Minister for Disability Issues, Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Minister for Child Poverty Reduction and Deputy Leader of the House and so really my pleasure to welcome up so please give a round of applause.
Hon. Louise Upston:
Well kia ora everybody and it's fantastic to see you this morning I know it's always challenging getting up on an early morning and particularly some of you who may have had significant disruptions related to weather in the last few days so it's just it's great to be here and one of the things I love about the job is I kind of mash my portfolios together it's far more effective if you can do multiple things at once rather than just dealing with individual silos and actually that's what we preach across the public service so Brian where did you disappear to so yes we are mashing portfolios together to get greater leverage rather than just thinking about individual silos and today really is about how do we unlock the potential of more New Zealanders.
So for those of you who joined us last time I came to one of these events for me it's about people it's about how do we create the opportunities for more New Zealanders to reach their potential and that's why it is really exciting to have such a wide range of people in the room across business, across government and across the community so thank you so much to the Wellington Chamber for hosting these series of events I'm particularly excited about this one Jason and the team at Allen + Clarke it's just great I think the fact that you have a continuous series that you host to make these connections is really important so thank you for the opportunity to do that.
Katherine Rich who's going to chair our panel today fantastic friend and great influential person in business New Zealand and across in business New Zealand as an organisation but across the country and I'm going to deliberately try and keep my comments shorter so that we've got more time to have a discussion with Phil Hendry who's the chief executive of Workbridge, Chanelle who is a best-selling author of books giving deep insights on autism and ADHD and an Autism New Zealand staff member and Nathan Bentley who was a client partner at DXC, I saw him a minute ago great thank you and I also want to acknowledge Paula Tesoriero who is the chief executive of Whaikaha we've got a team of people from Whaikaha as well as the Ministry of Social Development, Nanao is our regional commissioner for MSD so this really is a team effort if you think about what the focus is for the government I'm sure you've heard it fixing the basics building the future and where is it important that we start it's with our people and not just some of our people but all of our people and you will no doubt know that one of the government's nine targets is to reduce the number of people on the job seeker by 50,000 in six years and a few people have said to me you know you're bloody mad why did you set a target that's that ambitious and I did so because for every single person that we move off welfare and into work I know the enormous difference it makes for them for their family for their community and for us as a country and that's why I think conversations like we're having today is really important.
So there's lots of things that we've been doing in the work of employment but I think one of the key things has been a significant shift in how the Ministry of Social Development works with businesses and that's about partnering with businesses and it's about ensuring that MSD is a one-stop shop so I want the team from MSD to stand up for a minute and I don't want anyone in this room to leave without having spoken to one of these amazing people. Thank you very much because the thing many of you won't understand is actually the way MSD is working now so they are partnering with businesses to look at what your vacancies are today but also in the future so they're working with you as businesses they're looking and working with a pool of amazing New Zealanders some of them are very close to work others have a few more things they need to work on to get ready some will be available for part-time work some are available for full-time work but MSD provides a really wide range of services and supports that help as that bridge they are there for you as an employer as well as being there for the candidate and that's a shift that some people aren't aware of yet so I wanted to make sure I took this opportunity to remind you of that what we want to do as we know the economy is kind of turning the corner there will be masses of opportunity in the months and years ahead and I want to make sure that we are ready that we are ready and we're connecting amazing New Zealanders with those work opportunities rather than being in a situation where we're then trying to knock on the door of immigration and say please can you bring me another 20 XYZs because we've got time and we've got people and we've got amazing businesses who can provide those opportunities.
I reflect on a story probably heard in October November of a parent of a disabled adult and he said to me you know my son has got really severe OCD and he has finally got his very first job and he'd said to me it was with an employer who was deliberately looking for someone who had those characteristics capabilities and strengths and it was just amazing hearing this father talk with so much pride about his son and then he told me his son was 36 and it was for his first job and I just made me realise I don't want our kids to wait till 36 for their first job and that's why this morning is really important. So there's a lot of services available support funding connections but a big part of it is you know what's our intention and if our intention is to ensure that we create and deliver on the opportunity for New Zealanders then I think we'll get there.
So I'd encourage you to talk to MSD about the opportunities and we do know for those of you who have heard me talk before people come with lumps and bumps we've all got them some are more significant than others but actually those lumps and bumps shouldn't be something that prevents a person from being in employment either part-time full-time or in study. So I wanted to talk about two particular announcements today that I think will make a really big difference and one of them is the launch of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's report the value of the acts of access to work. It's been commissioned by the Ministry of Disabled People and it's a really timely and important piece of research that challenges us to think differently about talent about opportunity and about the future of work.
So it measures what it would mean to close the employment gap and what that would mean for boosting our economy and it shows that employing disabled people benefits not just our community but our economy. The size of that gap the disability employment gap is 578 million dollars which would have been an increase in GDP had we seen more disabled people in work that is significant 578 million and the findings give us a really clear picture of the opportunities where we have as a country when we support disabled people into work and it reflects their skills strengths and aspirations and it's not just about being the right thing to do it's absolutely a social and economic opportunity as well. When we launched the New Zealand disability strategy last year it'll be no surprise to you that employment was one of the key areas and that is because of the large number of disabled New Zealanders that want to work they're very very keen they're very enthusiastic and very willing and they're desperate often for that opportunity to work so it's great that that's one of the kind of key actions for the New Zealand disability strategy so please make sure you pick up a copy of that report before you go.
The second announcement is one in six so I'm delighted to launch this which has been developed in partnership with Ministry of Disabled People and the New Zealand disabled employers network. It's a website that's a useful tool for employers with one clear objective making it easier for you to employ someone with a disability. The one in six is because there are one in six New Zealanders with a disability.
There will be many sitting in this room but they're not things that you see that are visible they are hidden so one in six is really important and you may well already have disabled people on your team and you're not even aware of it. We've often heard from businesses actually the hardest part is knowing where to start so that's where this one in six tool and website is going to make a really big difference and the very simple message is don't get tied up in knots about how to do it and how to be perfect and all of that stuff, just start. Just do one thing, do one thing that would make your recruitment process more accessible and start and learn and connect.
There's a great team here from Whaikaha. I'm going to ask you to stand up, raise your hands. Excellent and the back too.
Thank you. So these are the experts, make sure you connect with them because those very small practical adjustments make an enormous difference and they will make a difference beyond the scale that you imagine they will. So one in six brings together practical guidance, tools and examples in one place making it easier for employers to build accessible and inclusive workplaces and of course I've highlighted Sir Brian Roche before and Paula so also really important people to connect to.
So coming up on today's panel we're going to talk about neurodiversity in the workplace. Now if you think about one of my other hats as the Minister for Tourism and Hospitality doing a lot of work in the last week to grow our visitor numbers, grow tourism and hospitality. Why? Because that grows the number of job opportunities and the really interesting thing is that 24% of those who work in the tourism and hospitality industry identify as neurodiverse, 24%.
So we have got great people in our industry, we're growing the job opportunities so we want even more and what we also probably realise and many will have family members that are neurodiverse, there are of course barriers that neurodiverse people face and it's not because of their ability or disability often, it's because their workplace isn't designed with them in mind. Really simple changes, very clear communication in interviews is really helpful. Sensory, friendly environments and predictable workflows are really simple things that can make a really big difference.
So they're not expensive changes but they're practical and will make the world of difference. Other employers are going further and we're going to hear a bit about that this morning with the work of Workbridge and DXC and the Dandelion Programme. So as employers you don't have to be experts in neurodiversity but I would ask you to just take some practical steps and with the panel that we're about to launch into, you'll learn some tips and tricks on exactly how to do that.
So thanks very much and looking forward to the panel, Katherine Rich is going to come up and we're going to kick it off. Thank you.
Katherine Rich:
Thank you Minister for those words and for your leadership of your various portfolios and I love the idea that you mash them all together.
I too would like to salute Sir Brian for being here, Paula for you and your leadership and the team of Whakaaha and all of those at MSD. You know business, the Wellington Chamber, Business New Zealand, we back you 100% and we're so appreciative for your service. Hayley, can I just salute you? I'm sure everybody in this room has noticed a refreshed, high energy Wellington Chamber.
You know a strong chamber is so important to a strong city and you've been a whirlwind and it's just been so wonderful to work with you and have you on board. It's great to see so many business leaders here today and I think that shows how important the importance of this issue and the focus that business has. Today's discussion is about something that's both deeply human and fundamentally economic.
How we unlock the full potential of New Zealand's workforce by creating workplaces that include disabled and neurodiverse people, not as a compliance exercise but as a core business capability. New Zealand's facing low economic growth. We have some persistent skills mismatches and an ageing population.
So while overall unemployment has risen from very tight conditions of recent years, many employers still report difficulty finding the right people with the right skills for the right roles. And at the same time, one in four New Zealanders identifies as disabled, yet the labour force participation rates for disabled people remain significantly lower than for non-disabled people. That gap represents lost productivity, lost income and lost innovation.
And that's absolutely the opportunity in front of us. Because when we talk about lifting productivity and strengthening participation, this is where those objectives intersect very clearly. Disabled New Zealanders represent a significant and underutilised part of our potential workforce.
So if we're serious about long-term growth and economic resilience, this is part of the mainstream workforce conversation. We've just heard from the Minister, the Hon Louise Upston, who has so many different portfolios, but they're each focused on how we unleash that economic potential for our country and for all of our citizens, so we can all lead purposeful lives. And that opportunity is so very real.
I read the NZ IER report last night, and what a wonderful platform for this discussion today, because I did economics in my own training, and there's nothing like some numbers and a piece of economic research that you can put in front of people and remind them of how important these discussions are. So the Minister did such a very good introduction of some of the panellists. I'm going to invite them up to sit beside the Hon Louise Upston.
Could I invite Phillip Hendry, Chief Executive of Workbridge. As many of you know, Workbridge works directly with employers across New Zealand to support disabled people into sustainable employment. Chanelle Moriah, who I really enjoyed speaking with before the event.
They’re a neurodivergent author, illustrator, and a member of Autism New Zealand's team, and as part of their role at Autism New Zealand, Chanelle educates employers on how they can support autistic people in the workplace. Welcome, Chanelle. And Nathan Bentley, client partner at DXC Technology and New Zealand's lead for DXC's Dandelion programme, a programme that builds structured pathways for neurodivergent talent into long-term IT careers.
So let's start at the foundation. From each of your perspectives, in terms of policy, employer, service provider, and lived experience, what does an exclusive and accessible workplace mean to you, and why is it essential to unlocking the full potential of New Zealand's workforce? Minister, could you begin the discussion?
Hon. Louise Upston:
Well, as I said before, I don't think it's that difficult, but I think there are steps we can take to make our workplaces more accessible. I think the first thing is commit to it and then take steps as a leadership team and ask the people in your team what are the things they could do to be more accessible.
We had the first internship that concluded last week in the pocket service, and I have to say I was excited that we'd had the first internship, but it was a bit heartbreaking to realise actually how inaccessible some of our places are when we invite people in. So there's lots we can do, we've just got to start, and I'm going to deliberately say not much because I think we want to hear from these guys.
Phillip Hendry:
So I guess it is very much a case of don't let the perfect get in the road of the good. Start now, start with the little things. Ultimately we want to get to a point where organisations like mine don't need to exist, and for that to happen we need to be in a place where it's normal. We're not talking about it in a special frame or a special light, and that really comes from the experience of both the disabled person being able to access some employment and also the employer being able to access the skills and value of the disabled person.
That's fundamentally what it comes down to, so we often get tied up in knots around things like language, the expense of making building modifications, and all those things are important things, but really I think that the key takeaway that I want people to actually leave with today is every journey starts with the first step. Take that first step. It makes a huge difference.
It makes a huge difference to New Zealand, it makes a huge difference to the disabled person, but just as importantly it makes a huge difference to your business. There's numerous studies that show businesses that have diverse workforces are significantly more productive than those that do not. So from a business lens, why the hell wouldn't you? Why the hell wouldn't you? So that's what I want people to go away with today, to think about that, to think about it in terms of their business, to actually think about it in terms of what can I do to actually get the ball going and start.
Chanelle Moriah:
For me, I think it's important to recognise that success doesn't have to fit within a rigid set of rules. There are three big things. The workforce is inaccessible to me.
I cannot access the workforce in a traditional way, and there are three big reasons for that. They're not the only reasons, but there are three big reasons. One, I spent five years trying to get work unsuccessfully before accidentally becoming an author, at which point I started getting offered work that I wasn't applying for.
I cannot communicate my value and my skill set in the traditional recruitment process. So that's one. Two, there is a level of rigidity in the workplace that makes it inaccessible to a lot of us.
So for me, I have a set number of hours of work per week, but I can work that whenever I want. I can work at 10 o'clock at night, I can work 40 hours one week, no hours another week, as long as, on average, I'm doing my hours and I'm getting my tasks done. No one cares, and I am a really efficient employee in that system.
And the third is that neurodivergent individuals will often have what we call a spiky profile. They will have very strong skills in some areas, and they will have areas that they just cannot do things. And that means that in almost every single job, there are things that I simply cannot do.
I might be amazing at 90% of the job, but there will be things that I cannot do. And the way we've adapted in my role is there are two of us who have the same role, and the tasks are split by skill set. So we have the same role, we do completely different tasks, and that means that we do our job really efficiently, and it's fine, things still get done.
And I think there should be more room for things to be flexible.
Nathan Bentley:
So I've come to this question, I guess, with two different perspectives. So, one, as a parent, as many of you will, I've got neurodivergent children. So two of my five children are on the autism spectrum.
So I've seen firsthand the challenges that they face through education, training and employment. I'm aware of the special talents and capabilities that they've got and the accommodations that are needed to make them, I guess, productive and fruitful members of New Zealand society. Fortunately, both of them have found themselves in positions where they can flourish.
A classic example with my oldest son, he was unable to graduate from high school but very comfortable riffing on complex abstract mathematics with professors up at Vic Uni and quantum physics and things way over my head. So that's that perspective on things. And that's one of the reasons that I've got involved through my employer DXC with the Dandelion Programme.
So that's something we're activating in New Zealand this year. It's been running for 10 years globally. I've got in excess of 350 people that have found good careers in IT through that.
So I think that's a reflection of the potential and capability that's out there. And from a business perspective, you just think about those numbers. So one in six is huge.
And there's a lot of people with neurodiversities that aren't captured in that. So it's something that just makes economic sense. And there's a lot of good people out there that are ready for the right opportunities.
Katherine Rich:
Thanks for that, Nathan. When I visit businesses, and I'm sure it's the same for Hayley, business leaders can sometimes fall into two camps. There are ones who are completely on board and understand the potential that is unleashed by having a wide range of people in the workforce.
And for me, one of the examples of that was visiting Animation Research in Dunedin, where many of their staff are neurodivergent because they actually see that as a superpower when it comes to software development and you mentioned IT. On the other hand, we get some businesses who say, I really want to do something, but I don't know where to start. I'm worried about getting the language wrong, being clunky, making the wrong sort of advance and being nervous about that.
So for employers who want to be more inclusive but don't know where to begin, what's the single first step that can make the biggest difference? Phillip.
Phillip Hendry:
I think it's the theme of this whole thing is to just start. Don't be afraid.
Don't focus on all the things that might go wrong. Focus on the things that will go right. From a practical sense, there's the amazing resource, One in Six.
It's been developed by employers for employers. Go there, have a look. It's a wonderful resource.
If you need help beyond that, there's organisations like mine and others that can help you either find good people or to help you with your recruitment processes and the other things that might get in the way of finding good people. Finally, and I know it's supposed to be just one step, but one of the most effective ways of getting a DEI programme or getting good disabled people into your organisation is sponsorship of the CE to people like Nathan. In every organisation, there will be somebody who is passionate about making a difference, who already has the skills, who can already join the dots and all they need is their leader to lead.
To lead by giving them the opportunity to help the organisation recognise that value. I've probably said enough.
Chanelle Moriah:
I think the first step I see is just being willing to learn.
Understand that it doesn't matter how much you learn, you will never understand every single disabled person because we're all different. Never accept that you know everything. Never accept that you already understand it. Continue learning always.
Nathan Bentley:
That's a really good point. I'm actually put in mind of a course that I was on probably over a decade ago now with Autism New Zealand and a couple of points that stuck with me from that.
One is with neurodivergent people, the tutor just used a simple metaphor of a bridge. The neurotypical people are over here and neurodivergent people are over there on the other side of the bridge and for far too long neurotypical people have expected those neurodivergent people to come over the bridge. So to Phil's point it's about taking that step and just going somewhere across to help people.
The other point that stuck with me out of that was that you've met one person with ASD, you've met one person with ASD, so everybody's different and it's about from an employer perspective introducing that flexibility and making those accommodations. I'd also say there's a significant tranche of organisations within New Zealand who can help employers. We're not experts at DXC.
We've been running this programme for over a decade but we partner with organisations as we are doing here with Workbridge and obviously there's a great resource through the ministry with the 1 in 6 website and portal to find more. As an employer we've invested something like $1.2 million in research around neurodiversity and mental health and all of the material that we've got around the Dandelion Programme is consciously open source. I think to date something like 600 other employers have accessed that.
So we actually see having a diverse workforce as a core differentiator for us as an employer but we're not jealous about that. So we're just one and really keen to see traction and other people get on board with that. Nathan, do you think as employers we need to rethink how we do job descriptions and recruitment processes? Yep, 100%.
I think as you've touched on there needs to be a lot more focus on getting the job done and what's required rather than traditional hours-based approaches to things that are very rigid. Think about it, it's almost kind of Victorian industrial approaches to how work is designed.
Chanelle Moriah:
Can I speak to that?
Katherine Rich:
Certainly.
Chanelle Moriah:
So when I started working at Autism New Zealand I was brought on to work on the police neurodiversity employment project and we scrapped the entire recruitment process. We didn't do CVs, we didn't do resumes, we had a list of questions for people, we didn't do interviews. We had a two-day workshop where everyone got together and they demonstrated their skills and some of the feedback we got from those individuals was that they felt less disheartened about not getting the job because they saw who else was getting the job. They saw who they were against. It was less of a personal thing for them.
Katherine Rich:
So we've seen the release of the report today and so I could ask the panellists, if we were sitting here in five years' time what change would you most like to see in disabled and neurodiverse employment in New Zealand and what are some of the additional things that would help us to get there? I'll start with you again, Chanelle, and then the Minister.
Chanelle Moriah:
I think I just want to see more openness for neurodiverse people to be in employment. I think what I see a lot of the time is that there's an expectation for neurodiverse individuals to meet the standards of non-autistic individuals or non-neurodiverse individuals. I think there's an assumption that we want to fit in or want to be the same as everyone else and a lot of us don't.
We want to be ourselves but we still want work. We don't want to come to work and worry that if we're ourselves we're going to be seen as a failure. I feel really valued in my workplace because if I don't feel able to do something I just say so and it's passed on to someone else but I'm given other work to do.
I think valuing that we are different, valuing our skills here and the things that we can do and moving past the things that we can't.
Hon. Louise Upston:
I'd just like to see more young New Zealanders like Chanelle employed and she's obviously bringing massive strengths to their organisation and other employers as a result. Yes, we've got a JobSeeker target.
I want to see that reduce, not because I'm interested in the numbers but I'm interested in the people. If I think our organisations will be much richer with a much more diverse group of employees and that's what we need as a country. We need as a country to grow our economy, great people employed in great organisations that are growing.
So there are tools available, use them and in five years' time I really hope we don't have to have a conversation in a room like this because you're all getting on, you're doing stuff. It's not going to be perfect but you're doing stuff.
Katherine Rich:
Thank you, Minister.
Now we have some time. Do we have some questions from the floor?
Audience member:
Yes, good morning. My name is Mike Stiles from Fiddle Township, a dyslexia consultant.
My question is why has it taken you so bloody long to get to this stage? And since Brian Roche is in the audience, let me say that one of the major impediments for people with dyslexia is government websites. They're diabolically difficult to navigate. I spoke with a dyslexia client the other day.
She said, I tried to engage with the Inland Revenue Department to pay my tax and it was a nightmare. Now that's got to be shooting yourselves in the foot. It's about time the government agencies got on board with this.
Good ones have situations where you can easily change the font, you can change the background colour, you can do all sorts of things, have information read out to you. We're a long way behind in this space. Thank you for your question.
Katherine Rich:
Do we have some reflections from the panel? I think I've handed that one over.
Hon. Louise Upston:
Are we doing enough? Totally not. But again, starting and getting on with it is the main thing.
So part of the New Zealand Disability Strategy, we're focused on five areas. Part of that is making sure that our one in six can access the information and services they need through government agencies. So that's a big part of the New Zealand Disability Strategy.
And it's a five-year strategy, not a ten-year strategy, because I'm bloody impatient. Very good. But actually, it's not something the government does on its own, which is why a session like this with business, community and government is really important.
That is the way we get faster impact where we need it to be. And yes, Sir Brian, I'm very keen for us to see more disabled people in the public service. That is the best way to then show areas that are not accessible for the one in six.
But not just restricted to us. We're all in this together. Thank you.
Thank you for that question.
Chanelle Moriah:
I just want to speak to this one, because I am dyslexic and I am a best-selling author. And I think it's important to see that sometimes what you expect is not what you get.
And just on that, if you want to learn about how to be more accessible for dyslexia, I'm both not dyslexia. So my job, I'm a research and advocacy advisor. That is not a dyslexia-friendly job.
And so like I said, we split our tasks based on CLC. And so in my job, one person does most of the academic writing. I do the translating.
I convert the academic writing into dyslexia-friendly, community-friendly writing. So yeah, that's just one example.
Katherine Rich:
Any further questions?
Audience member:
I'm Lance Burgess, a digital game developer.
I'd just like to say that our industry is particularly diverse. 40% identify as, and we believe the relative is over 60. My question is, have you thought about working more with our industry? I think our industry would be happy to work with various agencies to get what they want.
Hon. Louise Upston:
The team from MSD is not letting you leave this room. So that's exactly what we want to do. And when we talk about, you know, the needs of jobseekers, it's very much looking at what is an individual, what are their barriers to work, they're different from someone else, having an individual employment plan.
And then when you're working with an employer, it's what is the support that employer needs to support that jobseeker. And it might be a wage subsidy. It might be something that they require to get them into the job in the first place.
But absolutely, where there are industries and sectors that we can lean into quickly, let's do that. So appreciate the offer. And as I said, you're not leaving this room.
Audience member:
Can I just add that I believe that, you know, diverse people are the reason why our industry has accelerated so quickly to get to a billion dollars. The creativity that we're finding there, and then the fantastic cohorts as well, they make all the difference. Thank you for that.
Hon. Louise Upston:
Fantastic, there you go. Great example.
Katherine Rich:
Super power. As we close, and being of Scottish descent, I like giving people homework. I want to leave employers here today with some clear practical steps, because there are some things that each and every one of us can do in our own organisations and our own businesses. So thinking about some of the things we've discussed today, you could commit to reviewing one part of your recruitment process in the next few months.
You could engage with Workbridge, Autism New Zealand or MSD to understand the support available. Use the 1 in 6 website as a starting point for building leadership capability, and begin collecting better internal data on representation and retention, because we all know what gets measured gets managed. As leaders, I think we all understand that inclusion does not require perfection, it just means intent.
It requires intent, action and a willingness for all of us to learn and do things a bit differently. So it's not a nice to have, it's a growth strategy for all our organisations. So I want to thank the panellists for their reflections today, and for their work as leaders in Wellington and across our nation.
So to close out, I'd like to hand back to Hayley Horan for the wrap-up. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
Hayley Horan:
Before I gift to the Minister this wonderful box of local goodies, I accept that challenge, Katherine.
I actually think I'm sitting here as a leader of an organisation going, hang on a minute, what are we doing? So I really hope, and absolutely double-click on what you say, I hope every single one of us right now is saying, hang on a minute, what are we doing? And I think in a year's time, I'd love to run this again, and I'd love to see this room look a little different. So thank you so much, Nathan. I did not know about that organisation that you have.
Would you like to see more of it? Yes, I'd love to see more of it. Chanelle, the bravery for you to be here today is just kind of quite heartwarming. Thank you so much.
And Phillip, we need to talk. We've got so much more to do. Minister, thank you so much.
Thank you to everybody online. Thank you all for showing up. Keep showing up, because these conversations, business, government, community, it is all our responsibility.
This is not the responsibility of a government department to fix our communities. They're just enablers. We have to get together.
We're absolutely committed to doing that here at the Chamber, and thank you so much. And I don't know why we don't have three gift boxes. Okay, a couple of mistakes today.
But I do want to apologise for getting CEO wrong. Sorry, we need to talk. I'm going to give you a hug, and I'm going to give you two gift boxes.
But just thank you so much. A round of applause for our incredible speakers today.
