CRN Impact Awards 2023: Kiandra teams up with Dylan Alcott to build disability job site

Melbourne-headquartered custom software provider Kiandra built a website to help people with disability find employment.

The project was recognised as the best in the Customer Experience category at the 2023 CRN Impact Awards last month.

Kiandra was tapped by Get Skilled Access to build the Field, a fully accessible online jobsite designed by and for people with disability.

Get Skilled Access is a disability consulting business that was co-founded by wheelchair tennis great and 2022 Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott.

The Field aims to disrupt the employment landscape to break down the barriers preventing those with disability from finding employment.

According to the 2019 Disability Royal Commission, Australia has one of the lowest employment rates for people with disability in the OECD.

“One in four Australians are estimated to have a disability, that’s around 4.4 million people – only 53 per cent of people with disability are participating in the labour force, a rate that hasn’t changed since 2003," Alcott said.

“We wanted to create a job site that was more than simply connecting candidates with disability to employers. We wanted a site that would level the employment exchange by prioritising accessibility features and inclusive functionality to improve the recruitment experience."

The Field was launched last November by Alcott and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and has since benefited an estimated 33,000 business contacts.

The site is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG) Level AA compliant and optimised for screen readers and other assistance devices.

It caters to five disability groups, including those deaf or hard of hearing, blind or low vision, and with limited arm or hand mobility and intellectual disability.

Kiandra needed to ensure the Field catered to a wide range of accessibility needs, but was also responsive and functional for those tasked with its long term maintenance.

The company leveraged the low-code platform OutSystems to support both objectives, as it is easily customisable for those maintaining the system.

The build of the platform was also supported by Phoenix DX, AI functionality sourced through Blackbook ai, and learning workshop construction and badging through Learning Vault.

"We knew that everyone at Kiandra was as invested as the Field team in ensuring the solution was a success," the Field's general manager Selina Pickard said.

“The team prioritised end-to-end accessibility and user experience by testing, taking direction and collaborating with people with disability at every stage of the process.”