Chloe's story of youth voice and meaningful employment
Chloe Sumner, 25, is a Youth Advisor in the Brotherhood of St. Laurence’s National Collaboration on Employment and Disability (NCED) Youth Advisory Group. This group of young people with disability are passionate advocates.
On Tuesday 20th May 2025, the Inclusive Pathways to Employment (IPE) Community of Practice and Policy Conference in Adelaide brought together IPE partners to share what they had learned during the pilot program about how to better support young people with disabilities in transitioning from education to decent and meaningful work.
The Youth Advisors shared their stories of employment in front of the whole conference. This is a transcript of Chloe’s speech about her experience of disability employment services, finding a job, and the difference it makes when a managers and job coaches listen to young people with disabilities. and why listening to young people with disability makes it better for everyone.
This article has been adapted from a speech delivered at the Inclusive Pathways to Employment in Adelaide, May 2025.
I have had experiences in my DES (disability employment services) provider where my voice was not heard. Due to my autism, mental illness and chronic health conditions I am unable to work a full-time, struggle with phone calls and need flexibility. Despite this, the positions my DES provider kept presenting me with were primarily full time and call centre positions. I feel like this shows why it is so important for DES providers to listen to the young person when they advocate and communicate their abilities and/or accommodations they may need to succeed in employment.
We are the experts on our own disabilities.
We want to work.
We want to increase our skills and experiences, but we cannot do this without an inclusive practice at every step.
One example I know that I would benefit from is if my appointments with my DES provider had clear, meaningful intentions rather than just ticking a box. Having the appointment be tailored to the young person with disability, even having a support person or advocate with them to create accountability for the service. Ensuring they truly listen when a young person communicates their needs and limits needs in order to successfully gain meaningful employment.
DES providers should at least have a foundational understanding of disability. This knowledge is crucial for them to genuinely hear and consider the experiences being presented to them. Being educated on disability is such an important part of ensuring inclusion. When people, like DES providers or employers themselves, feel confident and educated they are less likely to fear saying or doing the wrong thing, which is often what I've found is preventing steps being taken toward inclusion.
Investing in someone’s strengths and abilities helps them feel valued at work. I experienced this firsthand at my first job at Target. I initially thought I wouldn’t be able to work a retail job, especially not for as long as I did... But I had a manager who saw my strengths – being detail oriented, organising, visual presentation and repetitive tasks. Instead of focusing on customer service where I struggled, she gave me tasks in visual merchandising and handling stock. She even saw my special interest of books and for a large part of my time there, despite being only a casual team member, I oversaw the books area of the store. It made me feel so important, gave me a sense of purpose, and I really loved making different displays. Employers have the ability to be inclusive, accessible and supportive in small and meaningful ways.
As I was preparing for today, I reached out to this manager, and she had some thoughts to share from an employer’s perspective:
“From getting to know and understand Chloe, I know she thrived with tasks that required attention and working away from customer-facing roles. I knew the best times to roster her on were early mornings or nights as there were less customers around. As a big business this was something we were able to accommodate for her. I wish more employers could see and embrace the talents that disabled and neurodivergent people can add to their workplace. As leaders, it’s our job to understand our people and cater to them where possible. Seeing Chloe thrive and take ownership of a department she loved was a highlight of my career.”
I didn’t get this job until I was 21 and truly it was the experience of doing it that helped me grow. I think hands-on learning experiences can help young people with disabilities discover their strengths. Unfortunately, a lot of the time work experiences and mentorships are often stuck in the same industries – service, retail, trade etc. This can be really discouraging as jobs in these industries may not be accessible or practical for a long-term career path.
When I was beginning to transition from school and look towards further education and employment, the opportunities presented to me were very limited. I was classified as a high achiever, so I was expected to go to university. I now have a double bachelor's degree in psychological science and criminology which I’ve yet to have much use for. If I had been given more opportunities to explore a wider range of industries or learn how my strengths could apply to various roles, I might have chosen a different path.
This is why youth voice and advocacy is one of the most important things about working with young people. No one knows and understands young people better than other young people. Our insights provide such important feedback to create inclusive practice in a youth-focused way.
Which honestly, is the root of why this way of working is important. The impact and engagement of young people is immensely changed when they are being heard and included in the conversation.
