40 years, one approach: five team members on the work behind the milestone
Barkuma’s employment service’s began in 1986 as Project Employment, making us the first provider in South Australia to deliver inclusive employment services. Forty years on, one principle holds. We get to know the person, then provide intensive, specialised support throughout their journey to employment and beyond: preparing for work, training on the job, and ongoing support for long-term success.
To mark the milestone, we spoke with five long-serving team members who bring more than 90 years of experience at Barkuma between them.
Dani Broadway, who celebrates 20 years this year, manages Employment Pathways, which brings together the Transition Program, Steps2Work and Inclusive Employment Australia. Lee Leibelt (25 years), Vanessa Murphy (17 years) and Tanya Abley (15 years) work in Inclusive Employment Australia, supporting people to find and keep work, while Vanessa Gordon (more than 20 years) supports students in the Transition Program as they move from school to work. To learn more about our services, read Inclusive Employment Adelaide. Here is what they told us.
No two days are the same
For Vanessa Murphy and Tanya Abley, a typical day starts with travel. Both spend most of their time at participants’ workplaces, helping people learn new tasks, working with employers and keeping up the case notes and admin that go with every participant.
Lee Leibelt describes a weekly or fortnightly caseload of job seekers and workers, supporting people to build pre-employment skills (résumés, applications, interview practice) and then working with employers to set up the job and the right level of support. She also keeps in touch with families, teachers and care staff, because they can affect whether someone keeps their job. What she values most is the flexibility: “Every day is different, going to different worksites, learning different jobs and getting to know the clients, employers and coworkers… not being stuck to a desk.”
Vanessa Gordon, who works in the Transition Program with school-age students, gives a similar answer. “A little bit of everything” covers helping a student understand their career path, talking with parents and schools, visiting students at their courses and celebrating milestones. After more than 20 years, she says, “No two days are ever the same.”
Dani Broadway, who manages the team, says no day is typical. A day can start fully planned and end turned on its head, because the team delivers the support as needed. “If there are things that pop up, we have to jump in and get it done.”
What has changed, and what hasn’t
The team has grown and so has the paperwork. Lee started as a job support officer with three participants, became a job coordinator and now mentor’s new staff. She notes the work has become more admin-heavy, with case notes and data entry across several platforms. Vanessa Murphy puts it this way: “At the core we are still very much the same, but over time our processes and compliance have changed.”
Dani Broadway says the core business has not changed, and that is what makes Barkuma special. Contracts, compliance and funding have all changed, but the support model “remains true to the holistic essence of traditional disability employment supports.”
What has stayed constant is the on-the-job support model, and team members across the programs point to it as what sets Barkuma apart.
Support that starts early and continues
“Our on-the-job support is unparalleled,” says Vanessa Murphy. “We are there to set up our participants for success at the very beginning; they do the rest.” She describes the pattern: full support at the start of a job, time for the person to prove to themselves they can do the work, then a step back as they begin to work independently. “That is where the confidence comes from for them.”
Tanya Abley sees the same thing: support “from the get-go and then ongoing makes for success and self-worth.” For Lee Leibelt, it is about more than a phone call. It means getting to know the employer and coworkers, seeing the person in the job, and learning and growing.
Employers notice. “Once they see our support model, they certainly understand the importance and appreciate their employees even more,” says Tanya. Vanessa Murphy adds that many employers keep coming back to Barkuma because of the support they receive.
Dani Broadway sees relationships with employers as just as important as those with participants. “They need to be built and nurtured. Communication and trust are essential.” In her view, a structured support model keeps quality at the centre of the work, and Barkuma is not solely focused on income and performance. “Barkuma’s priority is the right job for the right person.”
Stories that stay with them
When asked about the outcomes they remember, each team member had more than one.
Vanessa Murphy remembers a participant who started a traineeship and was nominated for South Australian Trainee of the Year. She also recalls a participant with literacy and numeracy challenges who earned his forklift licence. “He was (and still is) incredibly proud of himself for this.”
Tanya Abley supported a young woman who was very shy when they first met. With a role that suited her, she learned the job and has now managed work and family life for five years. Tanya also worked with a participant who completed a Certificate III in Child Care with support, despite low literacy and numeracy. She now works full time in the industry, has built strong relationships with the families at her centre and is building her own home with her parents’ support.
Lee Leibelt supported a participant whose mother had been told finding work would be difficult because of his disability. Together they applied for a part-time administration role with a government department. He learned to catch a bus on his own, brought precision from a finance course to the team and, with support, learned what it means to be a coworker. “I was called a miracle worker, but I didn’t feel that way,” Lee says. “Just proud of what he achieved” She also remembers a participant who worked extra shifts, saved carefully and bought his own home.
Vanessa Gordon points to graduation as the highlight of every year. “I often think about students who arrived at their first interview barely able to speak to me. Then, months later, they’re standing confidently in front of hundreds of people, sharing their story.” In those moments, she says, they are defined by their strengths and achievements, not by barriers.
Dani Broadway remembers a young person who would not speak. After the team supported them to find and keep a job, they spoke “loudly and freely” the next time she met them. She also describes a young man with complex support needs whom the team had supported for several years without finding the right fit. After a traineeship, he moved into a related role no one had considered as a match. “His independence, physical, financial and emotional, has been a delight to watch.” Among her favourite stories, like Lee’s, are those of participants who have saved enough from their work to buy their own home.
The common thread is the quieter wins along the way: a first work placement, a first solo bus trip, speaking up in a group, a friendship that forms at work. Tanya Abley describes moving one participant from a small casual role into a larger one, where the friendships they made became a major part of their growth.
Why they stay
Sector turnover is high, so we asked what has kept them here. The answers start with participants and students.
Vanessa Murphy has worked with some participants for all of her 17 years. “The participants I work with, sharing in their success and the Barkuma team I work with, we all help each other out. I love the principle of what Barkuma does.”
Tanya Abley says it is being part of participants’ growth and seeing the friendships and self-worth that develop. Vanessa Gordon says the answer always comes back to the students: “Confidence often grows because someone believed in you first.”
Dani Broadway has watched the sector add compliance and red tape over her 20 years. What keeps her at Barkuma is “the traditional values-based support that has carried the program for 40 years.” Her reason is simple: “Because we are ethical and true to our word.”
Lee Leibelt also cites the culture and her values: “building and maintaining relationships with clients and coworkers.” And with a nod to her 25 years: “I have invested too many seasons to quit the show now.”
Their advice to anyone starting is consistent. Lee’s is to listen well and “see the abilities, not the barriers.” Tanya’s is more succinct: “Hang around long enough and you will have some great stories and successes to remember for a lifetime.”
Dani Broadway would tell a new starter that Barkuma delivers ethical services, “with a focus on long-term participant success at the centre of our business model.”
What Barkuma has got right, and what comes next
Asked what the organisation has done well over 40 years, Vanessa Murphy says: “We really champion our participants, across all services of Barkuma.” Tanya Abley points to the holistic approach: “They matter to Barkuma and I believe we show that.”
Dani Broadway’s answer is brief: “Staying true to our values.” She counts winning every Disability Employment contract Barkuma has tendered for among her proudest moments.
Looking ahead, the hopes are practical. Vanessa Murphy wants to “continue doing what we do best.” Tanya Abley wants each participant to have room to grow, succeed and build self-worth. Vanessa Gordon wants to keep evolving the Transition Program, with more opportunities, supports and pathways for young people. Lee Leibelt plans to keep going until she retires.
Dani Broadway hopes Barkuma will continue to “buck the trend” in disability employment in South Australia and deliver the best employment supports for another 40 years.
Forty years on, the approach they describe is the one Barkuma started with: getting to know the person and providing intensive, specialised support throughout the journey to employment and beyond.