Endeavouring for a bright future for Maryborough people with disabilities

State-of-the-art training is now helping people prepare for employment at Endeavour Business Solutions Maryborough, with Federal Member for Wide Bay and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Llew O’Brien announcing federal funding for new technology today.

“The Endeavour Foundation helps Maryborough people with intellectual disabilities to reach their best and achieve their life goals, including helping them find employment,” Mr O’Brien said.

“This $8,744 grant will enable Endeavour to purchase educational and learning equipment including a virtual-reality learning (VRL) headset and steering wheel to help prepare its 45 employees at Maryborough for work with practical training on everything from literacy and numeracy to social interactions and real-world skills.

“It’s not the biggest amount of money, but it’s an investment that is making a big difference in the lives of so many people,” Mr O’Brien said.

Endeavour Foundation service design partner Chris Beaumont said the VRL program means Endeavour can offer much more than just on-the-job training and support for its highly valued employees.

“Using the VRL hub we can offer a range of experiential training programs that help people prepare for work here or in other places, like warehouse safety, driver training and barista training,” Mr Beaumont said. 

“We have also developed some great life skills video training programs which we call Thrive at Work, that help people increase their employment skills and learn more about how to safely navigate relationships and the world around them.”

The grant was provided through Round 7 of the Stronger Communities Programme, which is delivering $22.7 million to community organisations in Australia, delivering investment in regional areas, supporting jobs to drive our economic recovery, and ensuring our regions remain great places to live and visit.

“The Coalition Government is continuing to back regional and remote communities, investing in opportunities for them to get ahead and prosper into the future as well as delivering much-needed infrastructure and equipment, and supporting local jobs,” Mr O’Brien said.

Through the Stronger Communities Program, the Government has provided more than $135 million in total for projects for community-building and job-creating projects across Australia.

More information is available at business.gov.au/scp