A Canberra-based company providing employment opportunities for highly skilled disabled people will use $10,000 of prizemoney to fight negative stereotypes among employers.
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Enabled Employment, which was launched in mid-September with the help of the ACT Government, was presented with a $10,000 cheque by Optus on Monday night.
Jessica May, the company's chief executive, said the prizemoney would go towards addressing one of the hardest parts of her job: outdated views on disabled people in the workforce.
"A lot of the barriers people with disabilities face when looking for work are attitude-based," she said.
"[Employers] think that people with disabilities take more leave and are not as productive when they are actually really loyal, work hard, have less accidents and take less sick leave."
Ms May, who started the company after her own difficulties with anxiety, said many people with disabilities were aware of their limitations and extremely careful.
Despite launching only six months ago, the company now has 1300 potential employees signed up and looking for work, with 65 employers and around 50 jobs fielded so far.
Once an agreement has been met with employers, people with disabilities can work from home in communication with a supervisor.
"We're winning a lot of jobs in the highly skilled sector as we have an untapped pool of resources," she said.
"People with disabilities are often perpetual learners who volunteer to keep busy, so they have a lot of experience.
"But there is also another side of the story, as about 60 per cent of disabilities being acquired - so you could be a chief executive and then all of a sudden you are no longer needed."
Ms May said the prizemoney - awarded as part of the Your Shark Tank entrepreneurial campaign - would be used to educate potential employers.
"We normally take them through a bit of a journey to bust some of the barriers and myths and once they take on person on board they are proved wrong," she said.
"After that, they just keep coming back."
Ms May said her company was currently preparing to launch a new collaboration with Soldier On, a charity that helps wounded defence personnel.
"We want to be able to provide employment to anyone who served their country and to help them return to civilian life," she said.
"We have been working on this collaboration for about five months as a lot of people who have been impacted are in need of a flexible work arrangement, despite being disciplined and experienced."
Enabled Employment was launched with the help of an ACT Government Innovation Connect Grant.
When launching the program, Disability Minister Joy Burch said teleworking was a great option for people who might not be able to physically get into an office but had professional skills to contribute.
