Jonathan Stewart maintains work commitments throughout COVID-19

Jonathan Stewart is an organised, softly spoken, dry-humoured young man who is passionate about ballroom dancing, his love of New Zealand, and all things rugby. He is currently the only Impact21 student to maintain a work schedule during COVID-19 restrictions, as he works at Dulux HQ in their Colour Room. Jonathan has enjoyed the new challenge of settling into his new role, getting to know his colleagues, and upskilling into a very capable alpha-numeric sorter! Jonathan navigates a range of tasks at Dulux, many of which he has prepared for by being enrolled in Impact21. Congratulations Jonathan!

Impact21 is a tertiary education and employment course for employers and people living with an intellectual disability. It aims to break the cycle of unemployment to create diverse, sustainable and meaningful workplaces throughout Australia.

Founded by e.motion21 and supported by academic researchers including Torrens University, Impact21 has been co-designed with students with Down syndrome, employers, families, educators and disability service providers. Together we are disrupting unsuccessful models of disability education and employment through a ground breaking model that leads to guaranteed jobs. 

Current national employer partners PwC, Sodexo, Deakin University, JB Hi-Fi and DuluxGroup, DES partner CVGT and 12 courageous students have successfully completed the 12 month Discovery, Work Experience and Internship modules that lead to customised employment. Our graduates start work in 2020 – watch this space!