Sydney Employment Development ServiceRomani Girgis
Not too long ago Romani was enjoying the good things in life: good job and family. Life changed dramatically for Romani when in 2001 he was physically assaulted leaving him with ABI and hemiplegia to the left side. His vision was also affected.
A well-planned rehabilitation program commenced with Head2Work in October 2004 to prepare him for returning to employment. This initially involved computer training and following some dramatic improvements in his condition he progressed onto a work experience program.
Romani commenced work experience in office administration with Centacare arranged in September 2005. Romani benefited as an EDO from SEDS and a case manager from Head2Work alternately went in to provide training and support at the workplace. At that time he required training to learn and complete work tasks accurately and to overcome some difficulties with vision. The EDO and the case manager needed to be creative and devised ways to make life easier for Romani. The work experience progressed and Romani soon became a popular member of the team at Centacare.
By middle of 2006 SEDS negotiated for paid employment with Centacare using available government incentive and programs. He commenced paid work by September. SEDS facilitated for wage subsidy, special wage permit and supported wage system. To date SEDS continues to provide post placement support. However, Romani is already excited at the prospect of becoming independent and getting exited from SEDS’ open employment program.
The employer has been very supportive of Romani and he enjoys working there. He looks forward to attending courses lined up as part of Centacare’s professional development program for its staff. To date he is able to move around independently and saves a lot of money using public transport instead of the cab.