Speaker 1 00:04
With information on the latest developments in assistive technology and initiatives, from the studios of 2RPH in Sydney, RPH Australia brings you AbleQuest. Hello, I'm Barbara Sullivan. Today's guest is Sarea O 'Connell, the manager of Hotel Etico in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney.
Speaker 1 00:32
Sarea says her hotel is a social enterprise business, offering fantastic dining and holiday experiences, but also opportunities for young people with disabilities. They train in hospitality, everything from responsible serving of alcohol, customer service, housekeeping and food handling.
Speaker 1 00:50
And on their rostered workdays, the trainees stay in a dedicated apartment within the hotel. Already, its program of hiring and training workers with disability has seen graduates work in tourism in other parts of New South Wales.
Speaker 1 01:05
Elaine Jontek spoke to her about the achievements of her trainees and the criteria for getting a position on the training program.
Speaker 2 01:12
Welcome to AbleQuest, Soraya.
Speaker 3 01:16
Thank you, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 2 01:18
you're the general manager of the Hotel Etico. Where's that?
Speaker 4 01:23
So we're based in Mount Victoria, the very tip of the Blue Mountain. Beautiful, usually funny, sometimes a bit rainy, but in this very old manor building. Beautiful garden, beautiful hotel, right at the tip of the Blue Mountain.
Speaker 2 01:40
So understand your hotel is unique in that it's a social enterprise. What does that mean?
Speaker 4 01:46
So social enterprise is effectively the best way to explain it would be if a charity and a business had a baby, that would be a social enterprise. So we're a business for good.
Speaker 2 01:57
Great. Is that for the guests or for the staff?
Speaker 4 01:59
for everybody.
Speaker 2 02:01
And how did you get involved with it? Have you always worked in hotels and hospitality?
Speaker 4 02:06
My background, yes, I started in hospitality at the age of 14, so straight in the work for Australian hospitality. And then I moved into disability, the disability sector when I was about 19 and never really looked back.
Speaker 4 02:18
So then this opportunity came up and I saw it and I was like, well that can't exist. Hospitality was my very first start in employment and then my passion was disability. So merging the two into one, it was just perfect.
Speaker 2 02:31
So, what did you do in disability?
Speaker 4 02:34
I started when I was 19 as a sport worker. I've been through there's group home but then I stayed in day program for quite some time and then I went into the service manager of community services. We did the transition to from ADAC funding to NDIS funding and so the transition to that I managed all of Western Sydney at that time.
Speaker 4 02:56
I've done quite a lot pretty extensive within the service sector. It's so broad.
Speaker 2 03:00
Can you tell us what Hotel Etico does and tell us a little bit about the independence program?
Speaker 4 03:08
Yeah, so Hotel Edeco is a fully functioning hotel. We're open seven days a week to the public. We have 15 beautiful rooms. We have 120 -seat restaurants, beautiful bar, beer garden, outdoor area, corporate rooms, great wine lists, great menus.
Speaker 4 03:27
We're a destination. We're a hotel. And then we also have our NDIS side of things, so which is our program and the independence program. So the independence program is made up of two major components.
Speaker 4 03:42
The one -year program, the first independence program, which is the first year. So our trainees live on site. They have their own dedicated apartment, which we call the Academy of Independence. And they learn all areas of independence.
Speaker 4 03:57
They learn how to do their own grocery shopping, cook. Sometimes it's the first time that they've lived out of home, so they learn to live with people. They learn how to budget with a lot of life skills.
Speaker 4 04:08
It's a really holistic approach. And it's very hands -off support, so it's teaching. It's not necessarily doing things for them. So it's their apartment. They need to look after it. They need to maintain it.
Speaker 4 04:18
And then they also work in the business. So we train them to work in all areas of the hotel. And they're paid. They separate to training. They're also paid full -award wage from day one, fully integrated into the business, front and centre.
Speaker 4 04:33
And they learn all areas of the hotel. So we've got bar, restaurant, reception, housekeeping, functions, everything that it takes to run a hotel. They learn, and they're employed to do so as well.
Speaker 2 04:47
So these people's abilities are living with disabilities?
Speaker 4 04:50
Well, yeah, so we started with six and then we doubled the intake after that to 12 and now we have 15.
Speaker 2 04:57
15. And they learn how to be a barista, they learn how to save food, handling all of that.
Speaker 4 05:04
Yeah, so we partner with the outside RTO for those certificates because they're accredited certificates. We also have our own curriculum, which is based on the hospitality curriculum that you'll find in cert 1, cert 2, cert 3, but we've tailored it.
Speaker 4 05:18
We've made it really adaptable, learner friendly. I think imagine people with a disability have so many different needs and things like that, but every single learning need is different and we've adapted our program to be that.
Speaker 4 05:30
So we have one -on -one training, we have group training, we have repetition training, we have workshops, we have holistic approach as well. We have a well -being program. They learn to manage stress and they learn to do all of that as well.
Speaker 4 05:44
So that's the first week, the independence program and then the second year of the program, we actually transition them into open employment on full award wage as well. So when we partner with some of our partners, they're expected to pay full award wage as well.
Speaker 4 05:58
So the second year of the program, we support them, we find them the employment. So we've currently got all of our graduates have successfully secured employment, one currently still going through the recruitment process.
Speaker 4 06:11
So we support them, but we also support the employer to make any transition or anything that they need, training for the staff, adaptability if there's any access requirement, if there's any equipment, because we've worked with them for a year.
Speaker 4 06:28
We have that knowledge of the needs that they'll need in employment. So we've partnered with hotels such as the Fortune in the City, McQua, we've got Scenic World, the San Mont Hotel, Penrith Panthers now and a lot of our graduates are there and being supported by us for a further year.
Speaker 4 06:46
So if they need more, we support them, it's very tailored and adapted to what they need.
Speaker 2 06:53
And then there's ongoing support for the next year and perhaps even a bit more after that, isn't it?
Speaker 4 06:58
Yes, we're just a pathway. So we're a pathway to employment. We don't want to be their final destination. People with a disability and people without a disability, they're not going to be in the same job forever.
Speaker 4 07:08
So it's not about a job. The partnerships that we have with the employer, we really want to see disability differently as well. There's this massive, untapped resource within
Speaker 3 07:18
disability.
Speaker 2 07:19
So, Soraya, can you give us some specific examples of people who've got a disability and maybe been reluctant to get into hospitality, but they've done your course, been through your program, and then found a happy job?
Speaker 4 07:36
Yeah, yeah, so we've got quite a few examples really. I mean, one of our first trainees now graduate, he has autism and he didn't really come out of his room much, wasn't really sociable, didn't really have any purpose, didn't know what he wanted to do in his life, and so he joined the program at the moment.
Speaker 4 07:56
He's currently, so we supported him after employment as well. We found him at the Fairmont Resort in the kitchen, so he's been working in the kitchen there since he graduated, and just last year he actually signed and started his apprenticeship.
Speaker 4 08:12
So he is now a printer chef and probably one day will be a head chef of a very successful resort, no doubt. He's also got Shay, who's currently working at the Fullerton, who's front and centre, he's working there as a supporter, and then he's also working in the bar.
Speaker 4 08:30
He just absolutely loves it. There's so many stories I could talk forever. We've got one of our graduates, so he was working in housekeeping, he loved cleaning, loved housekeeping, and he was working at the soft hotel and went work for quite some time.
Speaker 4 08:44
He's just transitioned, they're going under renovations, he's just transitioned to a new employment where he's, I love housekeeping, but I want to further my career, so now he's going to be front and centre, he's going to work behind the bar of a five -star resort.
Speaker 4 08:59
So it's all about what they want to achieve and what their goals are for employment, but also their independent living, because obviously we have the two components that merge into one. So we've got some trainees who, their goal is to live independently, and I know one of our graduates is currently looking for rentals to live independently.
Speaker 4 09:20
It really depends on what their goals are, but the outcomes fix themselves. We have 100% success rate, we've got everybody in employment, one obviously going through the recruitment process now, but we've had some really great outcomes and some really, really great stories, but Quinn finding his apprenticeship paperwork I was in tears because it's just something he didn't know what he wanted to do and he's found this passion for cooking and this passion for learning and he sent me a message two days ago to say he's been a second week of pace and he's really loving it.
Speaker 3 09:56
Really great.
Speaker 2 09:57
So you're still looking for people to apply for a position?
Speaker 3 10:00
in the program?
Speaker 4 10:02
The one year program that we do, it intakes every year, so we have an intake currently underway and we've got 15 spots, we've had a few acceptances and that will start in May and then we've also got half start in May and then half start in July.
Speaker 4 10:16
We're always recruiting, we always want different people, different disabilities, we like to challenge ourselves as well, so you know, no disability is the same, we're always recruiting.
Speaker 2 10:27
So can you tell me what the criteria is for your program?
Speaker 4 10:31
So it's 18 to 35. You have to want to work. I think that that's a really big criteria. You have to want to have some goals around employment where you want to go and hospitality is a really hard job.
Speaker 4 10:44
So you have to want to be in hospitality or have a passion for it. But then again, some people also don't know that they have a passion for it. So that's our main criteria is 18 to 35 for the disability.
Speaker 4 10:56
We do have some restrictions on the physical access of the building, mostly because it's a heritage -listed building. But we are an NDIS provider and the supports are provided by NDIS, so you do have to be an NDIS participant.
Speaker 2 11:11
So how would they get in touch with you? Would they contact the hotel or is there a website?
Speaker 4 11:15
Yeah we have a website so you can contact the hotel and they'll put you in touch with our service manager or our training manager or myself but we have a website with an application form as well. You can find all of our details on our website, our phone numbers, our contact numbers and you can go from there and we'll always be in touch.
Speaker 2 11:33
You'd look up hotel www .hoteletico is that?
Speaker 4 11:37
Khamdorayu, yes.
Speaker 2 11:39
Hotel Etico, all one word, E -T -I -C -O.
Speaker 4 11:43
But also you can come in, we're a hotel, we're a business, come in for dinner, we've got live music every Friday, you can come in, you can talk to any one of the staff, if you really want to check it out, we can book you in for a program tour, you can come and have a look and see what we're all about and really talk to this current trainee for the day and see how it's impacted them.
Speaker 4 12:03
So lots of form of communication, we've got emails, we've got all social media, we've got Facebook, Instagram.
Speaker 3 12:09
LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 12:10
Sounds like you're encouraging more people with disability in the tourism sector. Removing the barriers, is that what you're doing?
Speaker 4 12:18
The thing is, though, we're a business and our trainees are front and centre, so even just by being a hotel and when you walk in the door as a guest, not all guests know what we do. And it's amazing to watch those guest transformations as they walk in the door and they see somebody with a disability checking them in at reception.
Speaker 4 12:37
It changes that viewpoint of people. So, yeah, we are removing barriers and we hope to do that. And we're working with the tourism sector to do that as well. We want to encourage our partners to be more inclusive and we expect our graduates to be front and centre and to show the world what they can do.
Speaker 2 12:56
That sounds very positive. Well, let's hope you get more people going forward. And what is your opinion about hospitality and disability? I mean, it's hard to get workers in lots of industries now, isn't it?
Speaker 4 13:10
Yeah, it really is. I think the hospitality sector is changing every day, I think, but it's always going to be there. We're always going to need workers, we're always going to need hardworking, dedicated employees, and people with a disability are such an untapped resource.
Speaker 4 13:24
They're loyal, they want to work, they have a passion for it, and they have amazing skills. People with a disability need the confidence of somebody to believe that they can do it, and then the industry needs support and to break down those barriers together.
Speaker 2 13:41
Well that was great of you to come on the program, thank you very much Soraya.
Speaker 4 13:45
Thank you so much for having me, and like I said, just please come and stay and come and experience the magic of Potoledica. It's really beautiful, amazing, amazing atmosphere, great life music, anybody's welcome.
Speaker 2 13:59
Thank you, you made us all feel very welcome. And that was Soraya O 'Connell, general manager of Hotel Etico in the Blue Mountains. And she was telling us about Hotel Etico's independence program.
Speaker 1 14:19
You have just been listening to AbleQuest, a program that looks at developments in assistive technology and initiatives. From Elaine Chontek and Barbara Sullivan, thank you for listening and goodbye till next program.
