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Left: Leslie Manao and Faith Gebadi.
Inset, left to right: Zac, Leslie, Lee, Irene,
Elsa, Mathew and Lit.
last year after approaching Trinity Bay
High School Special Education.
loves
“I took five students for work
experience and two of them work with
me now,” said Elsa, who also partners
with local employment service
Positive signs
provider APM.
“I currently have three hearing-
impaired trainees from Trinity Bay
C
who are doing their hospitality course
ustomers at a Cairns
café are learning to
order coffee using sign
language as the café’s disability
training program takes off.
and paid work with me, as well as
two hearing-impaired staff who have
stayed on after being trainees last
year, and we also have a young man
with autism on staff.”
Elsa Lim is the owner of Eat Elsa said she started the training
Real Café in Cairns, which currently program because she saw through her
employs six people with disability, support work how much young people
including five young people who are with disability can be affected when
She said the program aims to they aren’t exposed, encouraged
equip people with disability from or able to gain experience in the
about signing and just loved watching having no work experience to being workforce.
us sign to them, they find it really able to handle a fast-paced café.
hearing impaired.
“Some customers are nervous
interesting,” Elsa said.
“I created this program to not only
“With the training program, I’ve
watched the students go from timid,
support the disability community but shy and uncertain, to being confident,
the café is slowly building and I’m also local businesses that want to be excited and happy. It has had a really
encouraging the staff to be proactive able to employ people with disability,” positive impact on these young
with it too. We do have one customer she said. people, their families, and the school
“The signing of coffee orders in
who comes in just to sign for coffee,
which is great.”
“My goal is to train people so
they can leave my business and walk
and its teachers,” she said.
“I think my business has created
straight into another job with the local interest in not just sign language,
Training Program to give people same skills and knowledge as the next but disability more broadly, and
with disability a safe and supportive person applying for the job.” we get lots of great feedback and
Elsa created the Eat Real Disability
environment to gain the skills and
Elsa, who is a part-time disability
experience required to enter the support worker in addition to running
workforce. the café, started the training program
messages of encouragement from the
community,” she said.
www.eatreal.net.au
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