Nundah Community Eneterprises Cooperative Ltd (NCEC)

Nundah Community Enterprise Co-operative (NCEC) was formed in 1999 to create sustainable employment and training opportunities for people with Mental Illness, Learning or Intellectual Disability as these members of the community often struggle to find their place in the Australian workforce.

As those with an intellectual disability are often keen to work but are less likely to be employed due to the pace at which they learn, NCEC has developed two social enterprises, Espresso Train Cafe and Catering and NCEC Parks and Maintenance, to train and employ disadvantaged people.

Revenue generated from these enterprises is then redistributed back into NCEC's programs ensuring that the organisation is not reliant on traditional not-for-profit funding sources to sustain its work.  These programs assist with some of the causes of long term unemployment for those with an intellectual disability, through the provision of stable accommodation for employees who are homeless, support for workers with challenging behaviour, addiction management and parenting support. 

NCEC aim to expose their employees to the benefits associated with long term successful engagement in employment (improved material quality of life, relationships and self perception) and have developed Nine Key Principles in Supporting Workers:

Create the space and the time workers need to grow into work and jobs.

Involve workers in the planning and decision-making in jobs.Recognize that making a real contribution is a big motivation.  

Workers with different capacities working together cross subsidize their skills and capacities.

Use repeatable processes in jobs. It helps to build confidence to have a standard process (vs. repetition), and ensures quality control.

Recognize that it’s work to get to work. For people long excluded from the workforce, starting to work is a massive shift in life habits and coping strategies.

Encourage ownership and responsibility. Supervisors are very clear about their expectations of workers and the quality of work needed on the jobs.

Be flexible. “Where we finish may be very different from the plan when we started” – in response to how a worker is feeling that day or what else may be going on in their lives.

Seek the cause. NCEC supervisors assume that workers have good reasons for doing what they do. Instead of labeling or judging, they work to understand.

"I've got a lot of confidence in everything now, in everything I do. In myself and my abilities". - Nundah employee

How can you help?

Work for us for a day -  pledge a day of your normal wage to keep a worker with a disability or mental health issue in gainful employment.

Have your special occasion catered by Espresso Train or simply come by and have lunch.

Workplace Giving a simple and easy way for businesses and individuals to support .

Please visit www.ncec.com.au or call (07) 3266 3788 for more information