WHEN Paul Johns was growing up he had limited access to learning as a visually impaired student.
The 55 year-old Thornton resident has been blind since birth and said school was a terrible time for him without vision support technology.
"Everything was so hard and I thought I was no good at learning," he said.
"Everyone's got a right to education but there just wasn't a lot available back in the 70s and 80s."
He left school and worked in manual labour roles but he knew he was destined to do more and make a difference.
"I've always been involved in community services. I spend a lot of time volunteering for my local council through their disability action and inclusion group, and I'm involved with local projects supporting accessibility within the community," he said.
"I have also volunteered for Guide Dogs Australia, which is a cause close to me as a guide dog user."
Coinciding with International Day of People with Disability on Sunday, December 3, Mr Johns has been celebrated for his commitment to learning.
Fortunately he found his calling when he enrolled in a Certificate III and Certificate IV in Community Services at TAFE NSW Maitland in 2021.
"TAFE NSW has shown me that I'm actually really good at learning," he said.
"Living with disability comes with significant challenges, but TAFE NSW has been incredibly supportive of me during my studies."
He now works as a disability support worker at Delano Corporation and is continuing his studies with a Certificate IV in Leisure and Health.
"I feel like it's a gift but to me sometimes I feel I'm not doing enough because I have a disability myself. But I feel very privileged to do this sort of work," he said.
Mr Johns plans to do a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment with the goal of becoming a teacher.
"As someone living with disability, I stand as proof that studying is not out of reach of people with disability," he said.
He was also awarded the 2023 TAFE NSW Excellence Student of the Year.
"If I wasn't receiving the support from TAFE I wouldn't be kicking all these goals," he said.
TAFE NSW is delivering a pipeline of skilled disability workers to the sector, the National Skills Commission has forecast to grow by 11 per cent over the next three years.
The NSW Government is continuing its focus through its 2023/2024 Living Well Strategic Plan on improving access to more community based services and support and embedding lived experience.
It is estimated that if an additional 100,000 people living with disability were employed by 2050, it would add one per cent to Australia's gross domestic product.
TAFE NSW Manager for Disability and Access Services, Jodie Hoger, is also blind and was instrumental in developing TAFE NSW' first Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP).
"We're constantly striving towards being a more inclusive organisation, a place where employees and learners are free to demonstrate their disability identity," she said.
