A new mini Woolworths supermarket has been unveiled at Omnia Inclusive Employment Solutions in Gosford as a learning and educational tool for future job-seekers.
Opened on March 15, it will be the first opportunity of its kind to help adults seeking meaningful and long-term employment.
Known as Omnia Fresh Food, the mini supermarket was brought to life as an extension of the current joint mini Woolworths program between Woolworths and Fujitsu Australia, to include Omnia Inclusive.
The initiative is an extension of Woolworths’ and Omnia Inclusive’s long-standing partnership in placing people with a disability into employment and strives to provide candidates with real-world retail experience in a controlled learning environment.
Omnia Fresh Food replicates all aspects of a Woolworths supermarket, including baskets for fresh food, shelving for groceries, ticketing, signage and Woolworths branded uniforms.
At check out, grocery items are scanned using fully operational Fujitsu registers, creating skills such as customer service, money handling and organising bagging items – all contributing to literacy and numeracy skills.
Omnia Fresh Food expands on an existing program within schools and supports all adults with disability, aged 16 years and over, looking to transition into the workplace.
Woolworths Group Chief Information Security Officer, Pieter van der Merwe, said mini Woolworths supermarkets would continue to be rolled out.
“Candidates can experience how to shop, what to buy, how to handle money and how to work with weights and measures in a controlled environment,” he said.
Omnia Inclusive Employment Solutions CEO, Deborrah Lambourne, said, every person is valuable and deserves all of life’s opportunities, including access to meaningful employment.
“Omnia, meaning ‘all’ transforms lives by creating opportunity for all, employment for all, and inclusion for all,” she said.
Cutting the ribbon at the launch was Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch, who said for people with disabilities, work provides a symbol of inclusion.
“Being employed says ‘I value you, I see you and I want to give you the opportunity to see what you can contribute’,” she said.
Terry Collins