Beyond Job Ads: Job Creation and Co‑Design Under the IEA
- Rana Kordahi
- Sep 25
- 3 min read
How employment consultants can partner with participants and employers to create sustainable opportunities
With the rollout of the new Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) program which is going to replace DES on the 2st of November, we’re being asked to rethink how we approach employer engagement. It’s no longer just about filling vacancies from job boards. It’s about creating roles, co-designing with employers, and putting the participant at the centre.
Sure, SEEK and other job platforms still have their place. They can work for some participants. But if we’re serious about sustainable outcomes, especially for people with barriers, we need to go beyond advertised roles and start creating opportunities that don’t yet exist.
Why Job Ads Alone Aren’t Enough
Job ads are often flooded with applicants and not always suited to the people we support. And creating a bunch of vacancies that can’t be filled doesn’t help anyone.
Instead, we need to shift our mindset. Inclusive Employment Australia is asking us to move from vacancy-filling to job creation. That means working directly with employers and shaping roles around real people, not just generic position descriptions.
This is where co-design comes in. When we tailor opportunities to a participant’s strengths and goals, and match that with what an employer actually needs, we’re not just placing someone. We’re building something that lasts.
Cold Prospecting as a Foundation for Job Creation
If we want to create real, tailored roles, we’ve got to know how to make cold contact with employers. It’s not just about chasing ads or waiting for vacancies to pop up, it’s about starting conversations.
Cold prospecting means reaching out to businesses that haven’t advertised anything but might be open to the right person or idea. It’s about being curious, asking questions, and genuinely trying to understand what’s going on in their world, their goals, their gaps, their pain points.
And yes, this can absolutely include reconnecting with previous employers or contacts. In fact, those warm leads can be a great starting point. But often, especially when we’re trying to carve out something new for a participant with barriers, cold contact is the only viable option. This proactive approach taps into the hidden job market, uncovers possible business inefficiencies, and gives participants a real advantage. More importantly, it shifts the focus from selling a candidate to co-creating a solution.
Done well, cold prospecting builds trust and positions consultants as partners in workforce development, not just the brokers.
Carving Out Sustainable Opportunities
For participants with high barriers or disabilities, job carving and tailored role design aren’t just helpful. They’re essential. These individuals often face challenges like task limitations, discrimination, or limited access to resources.
By actively creating roles that match their skills and abilities, we can bridge the gap and promote real inclusion.
Sustainable job creation means thinking about:
- Workplace accommodations
- Flexible hours or arrangements
- Adjusted tasks
- Ongoing support for both the participant and the employer
This approach doesn’t just benefit the participant. It helps employers too. They get access to motivated, loyal talent and often solve problems they didn’t realise they had.
A Participant‑Centred, Co‑Design Approach
At the heart of Inclusive Employment Australia is the participant. Their goals, their motives, their vision for the future.
When consultants take the time to understand what drives someone, what they care about, what they’re capable of, and what kind of future they want, we stop placing people into jobs and start building futures.
Co-designing roles with employers that align with participant goals is where real impact happens. It’s not just reverse marketing anymore. It’s relationship-building, problem-solving, and future-shaping.
Inclusive Employment Australia invites us to do things differently. To move beyond job ads and into job creation. To stop chasing vacancies and start building partnerships.
When we centre the participant, engage employers with curiosity, and co-design roles that work for both sides, that’s when employment services become transformational.
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