Identity and ownership : Since I came to work at dal I don?t have a disability

Corio Bay Innovators, trading as dal Gourmet Cafe and Catering, is an innovative supported training and employment service that operates a gounnet catering service and two retail cafes in Geelong. Currently, dal has around forty staff who receive federal or state disability funding, and about half as many support staff. Rather than being seen as an agency providing supported employment, dal is regarded as a successful and competitive business that is very popular locally, and is in demand in the hospitality sector. Yet dals primary purpose is not the friendly service, great atmosphere, and delicious food, but the creation of a range of innovative employment opportunities in a caring work environment for adults who have been labeled as having disabilities. Most significant, however, is the extremely strong emphasis on inclusion in the local community, in combination with an actively supportive and empowering workplace. Staff at dal have voted that they do not want to be labelled as having disabilities but to have it noted that they have special needs. While the choice of such termninology may not necessarily be in line with current "politically correct" discourse, it is a choice that is respected at dal. It is a description worn with pride in difference and collective identification adopted by Other oppressed communities and acknowledged by Meekosha (2000) and Barton (2003). While exploring dal as a model of best practice in training young people for the hospitality industry, this paper will explore the conflicts raised by contrasts between the voices ofthe staffat dal and the discourses of educators and trainers, in an attempt to develop a sustainable model for the future.