When small business owner Kirstie Wishart received an email one evening, little did she know that it would spark new growth for her business and change a young woman's life.

Kirstie owns the Starfish Store, an educational, sensory and specialised retail store in Shellharbour City, NSW.

“Running a small business means I work all hours,” said Kirstie, “and I was up late doing email when a message popped up from Madison Sims asking for work experience.”

Madison, from Shellharbour, has a mild intellectual disability and autism, and contacted Kirstie after a visit to the store.

“I found it such a vibrant, inclusive and supportive place to be. It made me feel really comfortable, which gave me the confidence to ask for work experience,” said Madison, who at the time was facing the challenges of leaving education and finding a job.

After a successful interview, Madison started doing two hours a week and progressed to one day a week. Before long, Kirstie offered her a full-time position.

Community college adapts to Madison’s needs

As her confidence grew, Madison studied as an existing worker trainee for a Certificate II in Retail Services with WEA Illawarra, her local community focused training and education college.

 “What WEA Illawarra did was adapted the course to my learning needs,” said Madison. “For example, my handwriting isn’t wonderful, so they enabled me to complete coursework online. Adapting courses to meet students where they’re at is so important.”

WEA Illawarra trainer Dannelle Robson explained she listened to Madison’s feedback about how she would learn best, which included focusing on one subject at a time.

“Madison already knew so much from working in the store and her work was impeccable," said Dannelle.

Madison systematically and persistently worked through her modules, incorporating her skills and knowledge from the store into her course assignments, Dannelle explained.

The process helped her to develop new skills and added a whole new level of customer care to her role.

And using her digital skills, Madison also developed new online channels for the store.

She now runs a popular Facebook Live segment - ‘Madison’s Monday Game’ - where she provides a quick glimpse into how a game sold in the store works, enabling customers to see if it would be suitable for their home, school or clinic.

Inclusive hiring a ‘five-win thing’

The impact of inclusive hiring has been significant. “I call it a five-win thing: Madison wins, her family wins, our business wins, our staff win and our community wins.  Everyone benefits," Kirstie said.

Reflecting on the journey, Kirstie encourages other employers to consider inclusive hiring: “It was on my mind that I always wanted create opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to secure meaningful work,” she said.

“I needed the business to be doing well enough and had just got to the position to be able to offer open employment when I got Madison’s email.

“I encourage business owners to consider giving someone with a disability an opportunity. Everyone is capable of learning, the key is setting realistic tasks and goals. Start with a few hours a day or week, be flexible and open, and you will reap the rewards,” added Kirstie.

Building digital skills

For Madison, the experience has been transformative. “Working at Starfish has improved my mental health, given me purpose, and built my confidence to speak with new people. I also love hosting Facebook Live sessions.”

Her achievements have been widely recognised. Madison won the Illawarra Women in Business Outstanding Employee award and the Future Leader award from Community Colleges Australia.

“After I got the job at Starfish, I felt my life was on the right path,” said Madison. “I had two more goals, one was to complete the traineeship and the other was to live out of home independently. I have achieved one and now I am on track to achieve the other.”

“If more employers took a chance with people like me, just as Kirstie did, we would live in a much more inclusive society,” she added.

WEA Illawarra is part of the Community College Network. Future Skills Organisation celebrates and values our close collaboration with Community Colleges Australia, the peak body that represents not-for-profit adult and community education providers. 

Grab a coffee and take a moment to watch a short, heartwarming Facebook Live with Madison and Kirstie.

Original article here: How the Starfish Store helped Madison to shine — Future Skills Organisation Thankyou for the case study.