EMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS EDUCATION & TRAINING SOCIAL & COMMUNITY INTERNATIONAL CHARITY
Our Commitment
Our Values
To make a difference by providing opportunity.
Integrity Courage Respect Understanding In 1989 a small group of parents on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast came together to take steps to promote opportunities for their children. In the months and years that followed, an organisation was born whose passion is to ensure all people are given the opportunity to be independent, to contribute actively to their communities and to find success in ways that are meaningful to them.
EMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS EDUCATION & TRAINING SOCIAL & COMMUNITY INTERNATIONAL CHARITY
WHO WE ARE
OUR VALUES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
STEPS Group Australia (STEPS) is a vibrant, not-for-profit community organisation focused on creating positive change in our communities. Through core services of employment and training we enable individuals and communities to take confident steps forward and create opportunities to help people towards independence.
Carmel Crouch
Christine Jones
Helen Ferguson
Michael Lutje
MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
SECRETARY
DIRECTOR
TREASURER
Integrity. We lead by example in our commitment to being honest, transparent and accountable in our communications and interactions.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM
Mutual Respect. We encourage a sense of worth in one another, accept an individual’s right to their opinion and actively encourage contribution. Courage. We build strength and foster resilience when we act with the courage of our convictions. Compassion. We recognise that empathy, care and understanding are essential in our relationships with others. Possibility Thinking. We look at situations in new and creative ways to open up unrealised opportunities for positive change. Learning. We strengthen our skills and knowledge by pursuing informal and formal education opportunities, challenging our own ideas, asking questions, embracing feedback and reflecting on the outcomes of our actions. We understand this is essential for continual improvement.
Shelly Campbell
Bruce Eldridge
Samantha Geeson
Lee-Anne Whalley
Stuart Coward
Carolyn Turnbull
GENERAL MANAGER EDUCATION & TRAINING
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
QUALITY SYSTEMS MANAGER
MANAGER EMPLOYMENTSOLUTIONS
EXECUTIVE OFFICER
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER
A HISTORY OF GROWTH. 1989 - 2011 1990
2002
2007
2010
With a staff of four, we commence operation as a supported employment agency from our first office in Maroochydore.
Our bid for “The Australians Working Together (A Better Deal for People with Disability) Tender” is successful. STEPS’ Constitution is amended.
With funding from Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), we commence the STEPS Graduate Program.
Our Language Literacy & Numeracy contract is extended into Cairns and Torres Strait.
Our new strategic plan is released with an extended focus on training.
STEPS Disability QLD Inc becomes STEPS Group Australia, a Company Limited by Guarantee. Our new strategic plan is launched and our staff now number 288.
We merge with Capability Concepts Inc to deliver Disability Services to people in Gin Gin and the Wide Bay/Burnett region. 1991
2003
We expand our service offering to our clients and now provide competitive employment placement and support services, workplace skills training, apprenticeship placements and high school transition support.
STEPS becomes STEPS Disability Queensland reflecting changes to our corporate structure with four divisions, STEPS Training, STEPS Employment, STEPS Ahead and STEPS Support.
1990
1991
1992
1993
EMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS
We merge with Impact Employment to expand our services in Townsville and attain the National Disability Coordination Officer (NDCO) Program in North and South-East Queensland
EDUCATION & TRAINING SOCIAL & COMMUNITY INTERNATIONAL
Queensland Mental Health names STEPS Nambour as preferred provider of Disability Employment Services on the Sunshine Coast.
We successfully apply for a Job Placement Organisation License. STEPS job seekers number surpass 500.
CHARITY
STEPS now has 13 fully operational offices in Queensland and Northern Territory, and one part time office in Noosa and a staff of 94
STEPS Training receives a Honda Foundation grant to deliver driver training to people with a disability.
We extend our employment support services to Yandina & Maleny and introduce our first work experience program to support our job seekers in gaining job skills.
We undergo a re-branding exercise to clarify our service offering to the market
STEPS Training’s Scope of Registration expands to 13 qualifications and 18 accredited courses.
2004
We become one of the first disability services to obtain Approved Training Organisation (ATO) status.
The STEPS 2011 Grand Winter Ball officially launches the STEPS Charity, raising the profile of STEPS within the local Sunshine Coast business community.
2008
We merge with Work Support Employment Service in Bundaberg, expanding our service into this region and acquiring a new office.
1993
1989
2011
We conducted a National Survey of Disability Employment Service Providers to identify training demands.
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
1994 We introduce our Supported Wage and Deaf/Hearing Impaired Support programs to further help our job seekers find meaningful employment.
2005 - 2006
2009
We partner with CADET in a joint program to support participants in the Land Environment Action Program.
Through a merger with Coral Coast Employment Services Inc. we open offices in Hervey Bay and Bowen.
We add two part-time offices in Maleny and Ayr.
Partnership arrangements result in the expansion of our training services to Townsville.
The Meeting Place Project commences in Alice Springs.
STEPS was founded by a group of parents on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland to enhance employment opportunities for young people aged between 15 and 25 years with an intellectual disability. Our name, originally and acronym for Sunshine Coast Training and Employment Placement Services was registered in October 1989. While today we no longer use the acronym, we still write STEPS in capitals to pay homage to our foundation.
Rebrand: STEPS adopts a logo and business colours.
1995 - 1996
We merge with Employment Access Inc to deliver services in Alice Springs.
Our Range Project provides traineeships in regional Maroochydore and Caloundra.
We open our Townsville, Collinsville and Alice Springs offices and outreach offices in Maryborough and Ayr. STEPS offices now number 12.
Our second office opens in Caloundra and we now have a staff of 22. Our third office in Nambour opens 1998 We launch STEPS Ahead to create financially viable social venture businesses, designed to employ people with a disability for full rates of pay. Waterfall Road Cleaning is its first contract.
We see a 40% growth in job seekers requesting our help.
STEPS Training is invited to become a training partner of the National Employment Services Association (NESA) and sit on two national special interest groups, ‘Professional Development’ and ‘People with a Disability.’ Our bid to deliver Open Employment Services, Remote Service Delivery, Supported Wage Systems and the Workplace Modification Scheme to our clients is successful.
STEPS Mental Health Centre of Excellence is launched. STEPS Training now delivers Language, Literacy & Numeracy, Workplace English Language & Literacy, Home & Community Care Aged Care Training and Productivity Places Programs (PPP) in the Northern Territory. We merge with CADET to expand our training services on the Sunshine Coast. We partner with Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal Corporation to deliver Youth Connections to young people at risk in remote NT. We deliver six new community programs: Youth Pathways Program, Multicultural Affairs Initiative, Dementia Awareness Initiative, Regional Arts Development Funding, NDCO Strategic Funding and Post School Services. Our Alice Springs office expands to accommodate Training and Community Services growth. We successfully re-tender for the Federal Governments Disability Employment Services (DES) contract.
EMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS
EDUCATION & TRAINING SERVICES
We know a diverse workforce makes a valuable contribution to Australian businesses.
We combine our passion for quality service and training to give you the best opportunities possible.
STEPS empowers disadvantaged job seekers by giving them meaningful support and opportunities. We help those with a disability, injury or health condition find and maintain sustainable employment. With more than 25 years experience in the recruitment industry, we’ve made it our business to place talented job seekers in the right roles, every time.
Ever since our Education and Training division launched in 1993, we’ve been committed to giving individuals the chance to develop new work skills and knowledge. STEPS is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and we provide education, training programs and partnerships across the following areas: • Business • Language, Literacy & Numeracy • Foundation Skills • International Hospitality • Training and Assessment • Community and Aged Care • Health
www.stepsgroup.com.au/employment
www.stepstraining.edu.au
SOCIAL & COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
CHARITY
We understand it’s important to reach out to different people in different ways.
We’re committed to forming sustainable partnerships to strengthen and grow our local communities.
That’s why we offer initiatives that recognise and nurture the value of individuals to local communities. Our social and community programs include:
As a registered charity we provide a vital service to the community, but we can’t deliver all of our services and initiatives without the support of others. Since 2011 we have been raising money to deliver our unfunded services through initiatives such as The STEPS Grand Winter Ball and strategic, mutually beneficial partnerships with businesses in our local communities. We’re always on the lookout for new opportunities to partner with organisations and we’re always thankful to our partners who, each and every day, help us to support the people that need it most.
•
Caloundra Resource Recovery Centre
•
Care for Carers Program
•
National Disability Coordination Officer Program (NDCO)
•
George Street Community Nursery
•
Cleaning & Property Maintenance
www.stepsgroup.com.au/community
www.stepsgroup.com.au/charity
ATHERTON TABLELANDS
REMOTE TOP END Office in Casuarina (Darwin), servicing Milingimbi, Galiwinku, Nhulunbuy and Gunbalanya
Office in Atherton • Education & Training » Skills for Education and Employment
• Education & Training » Skills for Education and Employment » Subcontract Skills for Education and Employment services to Tiwi Islands
CAIRNS Office in central Cairns, servicing Cairns, Innisfail and Mossman • Education & Training » Skills for Education and Employment
DARWIN Office in Casuarina servicing Darwin and Palmerston • Education & Training » Skills for Education and Employment
TOWNSVILLE
NDCO REGION 22
Offices in Aitkenvale and Ayr, servicing the region • Employment Solutions » Disability Employment Service • Social & Community Initiatives National Disability Coordination Officer Program – Region 22
KIMBERLY REGION - WESTERN AUSTRALIA Offices in Derby & Kunnanurra • Education & Training » Skills for Education and Employment
BUNDABERG NDCO REGION 20
Office in central Bundaberg, servicing Bundaberg, Wide Bay, Burnett and Gympie region • Employment Solutions » Disability Employment Service • Social & Community Initiatives » Care for Carers Program
ALICE SPRINGS Office in Alice Springs servicing Alice Springs, Hermannsburg plus 16 remote communities across the Central Desert and Barkly region
SUNSHINE COAST
• Education & Training » Skills for Education and Employment » Northern Territory Aged Care Training Project
Offices in Caloundra, Maleny, Maroochydore, Nambour and Noosa, servicing the Sunshine Coast • Education & Training » Campus in Caloundra » Aged Care courses » Training partnership services » International College » English College
• Employment Solutions: » Disability Employment Services
NATIONAL - ALL REGIONS • National Panel of Assessors Representatives in Perth, Adelaide, Stanwell, Melbourne, Wagga Wagga, Sydney, Yamba, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Townsville servicing all 116 regions Australia wide.
HOBART Office in central Hobart • Employment Solutions: » Delivering the Indigenous Employment Program • Education & Training » Skills for Education and Employment
• Employment Solutions » Disability Employment Services » By Your Side Mentoring Program • Social & Community Initiatives » Caloundra Resource Recovery Centre » Mattress recycling » Commercial cleaning » National Disability Coordination Officer Program – Region 20
CONNECT WITH US
@stepsgroup /stepsgroup /stepsgroup steps-group-australia
GENERAL ENQUIRIES
1300-0-STEPS or 1300-078-377
@
[email protected] www.stepsgroup.com.au