ARC Trainee using his disability to help others

Timothy Ragg has Cerebral Palsy and for years he has considered his disability a disadvantage. Now working full time as a Disability Support worker, Tim isn’t letting his disability hold him back any longer and is using it as an advantage to help others.

Tim completed his Certificate III in Disability with ARC in 2015 and initially struggled to find work, finding that lack of experience is a big road block to gaining employment. He didn’t want to go back to working part time as a chef, he’d felt discrimination in the hospitality industry and knew he had to persevere. Eventually he was given a second chance by WALCA (Work and Leisure Centre for Adults) after his life experience with his own disability was recognised.

“I never thought I would actually use my disability as a job.”

On a daily basis, Tim assists other people with a broad range of disabilities. He helps them with their needs and facilitates their skill development so they can enjoy a better quality of life.

“ARC Group was always there for me, I could call or text all the time and they were there for me no matter what. Rachael and the rest of the ARC Team gave me an amazing opportunity and I can’t thank them enough,” Tim said.

“The best moment of the course was throwing paper darts around the classroom. Nadime, my trainer was brilliant and went above and beyond in the delivery of the course. She shared stories from her own life experience working in the industry and explained things in depth for us which made a real difference’, Tim said.

Where to now? Tim plans to study his Certificate IV in Disability with ARC and would like to progress to a higher role as a Disability Needs Assessor. He loves his job and the training he received has given him a deeper grasp of the work he is doing.

“Knowing you can come to work and make someone’s life better makes it all worth it.”

Tim has stayed in touch with his fellow students and is quite a spiritual man. He would like to thank God, his wife, Lynette and Lorna from WALCA and ARC for helping him get to where he is today.

WALCA works with clients who have severe autism and physical and mental disabilities, the work is demanding and Tim loves it, stating, “Knowing you can come to work and make someone’s life better makes it all worth it.”

“I never thought I would actually use my disability as a job. I’d grown up with food and thought that was my passion. The training I did with ARC wasn’t the start of a new career; it was just part of the process.