{"id":115971,"date":"2026-07-17T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/?p=115971"},"modified":"2026-07-15T17:03:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T07:03:51","slug":"maintenance-crew-shaking-up-supported-employment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/maintenance-crew-shaking-up-supported-employment\/","title":{"rendered":"Maintenance crew shaking up supported employment"},"content":{"rendered":"

A LEADING local social enterprise is challenging perceptions as to how supported employment for people with disability is seen.<\/p>\n

Rather than presenting its commercial grounds and facilities maintenance operations as charity-based and fueled by social responsibility, Connecting2Ability (C2A) is instead focusing on highlighting the trade-level skills and efficiency of its personnel.<\/p>\n

“While we are proud of our inclusive mission, we secure contracts based on the quality of our work,” C2A Bendigo’s business manager Jo Barclay said.<\/p>\n

“We are building a high-performing business that delivers measurable value and outstanding results for our clients.”<\/p>\n

She said the organisation’s vision is simple: to become one of the most respected commercial maintenance service providers in Bendigo.<\/p>\n

“When clients engage us, we want them to choose us because our work is professional, reliable, safe and competitively priced,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The fact that our crews are made up of supported employees should, simply, become another reason to admire what has been achieved, not the reason they hired us.<\/p>\n

“From precision machinery operation and collaborative teamwork, to meticulous quality control and consistent, high-volume repetition, our crew delivers reliable excellence across all operations.”<\/p>\n

Barclay has made it her personal mission to switch the provider-side narrative regarding supported employment from low expectations to offering the right support so people can go above and beyond.<\/p>\n

“That philosophy has transformed our culture,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Crew members take pride in wearing their uniforms, they take ownership of the work they complete, they build relationships with clients and celebrate the finished results, knowing they have contributed to making Bendigo look better.<\/p>\n

“We’re not interested in being known as ‘the disability garden service’, we want to be known as one of Bendigo’s most reliable and efficient grounds maintenance and facilities support service providers.”<\/p>\n

Barclay said when the quality of C2A’s work is able to take centre stage, it acts to completely redefine expectations around inclusion and supported employment.<\/p>\n

“If our success encourages even one more business leader to embrace a diverse workforce, we have made a lasting, positive impact on both our industry and our community,” she said.<\/p>\n

The breadth of C2A’s operations would be surprising to many.<\/p>\n

“Alongside commercial grounds and maintenance services, we operate our Eco Fleet car washing service, providing environmentally responsible fleet vehicle cleaning that is performed at their location,” Barclay said.<\/p>\n

“We also operate a dedicated water truck, delivering tree watering services for developers, councils and commercial landscapes across the region.<\/p>\n

“Looking ahead, we’re exploring new opportunities including solar panel cleaning for large solar farms.<\/p>\n

“This is another example of how supported employment can grow into specialised commercial services that create meaningful jobs for our crews.”<\/p>\n

For more information, contact Barclay via jbarclay@c2a.org.au<\/a> or senior support worker Tyson Cope via tcope@c2a.org.au<\/a> or call Connecting2Ability on 1300 111 212.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A LEADING local social enterprise is challenging perceptions as to how supported employment for people with disability is seen. Rather than presenting its commercial grounds and facilities maintenance operations as charity-based and fueled by social responsibility, Connecting2Ability (C2A) is instead focusing on highlighting the trade-level skills and efficiency of its personnel. “While we are proud […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":115973,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"featured_section_post":"main_featured","home_featured_section_post":"main_featured","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-115971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMaintenance crew shaking up supported employment - Bendigo Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Choose Bendigo grounds maintenance by C2A for professional, reliable commercial services that redefine supported employment.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/maintenance-crew-shaking-up-supported-employment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maintenance crew shaking up supported employment - 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