Attainable Trust Making Work Attainable
On Monday evening, Murray Clarke presented a very interesting and compelling report on the work of Attainable, a charitable trust that by providing employment and support enhances the lives of others less fortunate than ourselves. Murray, after many years of corporate life was asked to work with the Attainable trust essentially to shut it down.
Attainable which had started life in 1997 as Auckland Protected Employment Trust was in trouble but Murray saw something in the key aims of the trust and now seven years later the trust has gone from strength.
Attainable works with up to 150 disabled people aged from 16 to 65 years old who are unable to be employed in a standard workplace. The trust provides the professional supervision and support needed to make it possible for their people to work, some for one day a week and others for more days. The trust is exempt from the minimum wage legislation and hence the process for employment are rigorous, involving a comprehensive interview, sign off by parents or guardian and sign off by the Department of Labour. The trust pays according to a rigorous assessment of what they can do and each programme is very much individualised.
At Attainable the aim is to provide meaningful work and a sense of purpose in a safe and supportive environment where people with disabilities can engage with others, form social connections, and develop to their personal and caring capabilities. Where possible Attainable tries to cover required supervisory roles from within its workforce. The trust specialises in contract packing, blister packing, pick pack and dispatch, preforming boxes, repacking and envelope and promotional product packing. All are tasks which require different levels of skill and because they are repetitive, allow the workers to build skill at their own pace.
Murrays described a committed workforce, some of whom arrive up to two hours early to work, who feel good that they have a job because they deserve it. It is not just the money it’s the social engagement, the friendship and the sense of doing something useful and important.
In addition, Attainable runs social programmes to cater or those who are not able to be part of the workforce. A re-cent addition to their programme is the Good Purpose Kitchen, a fully equipped “A” rated facility that can supply restaurants, do out catering and provide a healthy morning tea and lunch to the employees.
All of this requires paid staff and even though this is a poorly paid sector, getting the funds required to run the trust is difficult. The majority [$3500] per person comes from the Government but has not changed in ten years. The margin they make on the contract work they do is the next biggest source of funds with community funds and donations making up the rest.
With firms out sourcing to China, with concerns about on-going Government funding, with advocacy groups questioning why the trust does not pay minimum wage, and a public that remain largely unaware of the importance of the work that Attainable and other groups like them do, it is to be hoped that the powers that be do recognise the vital nature of the service that Attainable provides.