Families as Partners on the Path to Employment

When it comes to employment, families of people with disabilities often find there is no 'how-to' manual for supporting them in achieving their goals. Everyone does the best they can with the information, resources, and circumstances available to them.

The path to employment for a person with a disability can be particularly complex. With the jobseeker's permission, family involvement in this journey offers several key benefits:

Key Benefits of Family and Carers for Employment

1. Families know the person best. With their life experience and stories, they can highlight the person’s traits, values, and experiences, creating a rich narrative. This insight supports employment providers in the Discovery phase, allowing them to understand how to tailor employment assistance in a personalized way.
2. Networks – Families are an invaluable, often untapped source of contacts and business connections, which can be explored to help someone find meaningful employment.
3. The Safety Net – The path to employment is rarely a straight 'career ladder.' It includes setbacks, which are a natural part of learning. Family members provide a safe foundation—a soft place to land—which helps individuals process disappointment and encourages them to keep trying. By framing these experiences as learning opportunities rather than as reasons to give up, families foster resilience and growth
4. Cheerleaders – Families frequently tell us about the positive, often unexpected, effects of employment on their family members. They witness growth, new social connections, and expanded goals and dreams. Watching their loved one gain independence through work helps ease worries about the future, as employment success often has a ripple effect, benefiting the individual and those around them.....

Inclusive Businesses

Aside from these key benefits to ensuring that there is a support network around the person with disability as they explore and learn about themselves and what they want in life, it is important that the right supportive process and coaching is in place. This then needs to transfer to the right businesses with genuine interest in becoming more inclusive and they are willing to make certain adjustments to support a jobseeker.

Where to next

Recognizing these benefits is the first step in understanding your role in supporting a family member’s journey to employment. By partnering with an employment provider, you can add valuable insights to guide the job search while giving the provider the space to work with the information you share. It’s equally important to allow your family member the room to grow and develop their own agency as they pursue their goals.

Contact the team at Aequis Talent to discover our unique, tailored approach to employment services. Our small intakes allow for a more personalized and purposeful experience, ensuring every step is designed to achieve meaningful outcomes.