Leading the way in disability employment innovation, Bedford’s CEO, Myron Mann shares key insights into the organisation’s bold transformative journey through its Future Bedford Strategy.
With over 1,500 clients across 22 sites in South Australia, Bedford stands as Australia’s second-largest employer of people with disability. CEO Myron Mann, who began his journey with Bedford as a consultant, emphasises the organisation’s dedication to creating meaningful opportunities and empowering individuals with disability to live the lives they choose.
“Bedford operates in a challenging environment with the disability services sector under significant public scrutiny,” Mr Mann said. “We bend over backwards every day to deliver the right outcomes for the people we support. Our passionate staff are at the heart of this mission.”
At the heart of Bedford’s vision is the Future Bedford Strategy, a $50 million investment plan launched in 2022 aimed at revolutionising disability employment through innovative social enterprises and purpose-built workplaces.
“This ambitious plan will create unprecedented choice and career pathways by developing new social enterprises such as Cultivate Food and Beverage and Dovetail Advanced Manufacturing,” Mann explained. “These ventures pay award wages and offer opportunities for people with disability to transition into open employment.”
Bedford is proud to be the only not-for-profit disability employment provider in Australia to have developed a certified social enterprise business model, driving change across the sector.
Looking ahead, Bedford is committed to expanding social procurement across South Australia, supporting businesses in achieving their environmental, social, and governance objectives while simultaneously creating more employment opportunities for people with disability.
“We believe in reinvention and innovation as key to overcoming challenges like wage parity and workplace segregation,” Mr Mann said. “With one in five South Australians living with disability, their economic contribution must be recognised and supported.”
Reflecting on Bedford’s 80-year history, Mr Mann shared the organisation’s founding purpose: to empower people to make their own decisions and live fulfilling lives, a philosophy that continues to guide Bedford today.
“As we pioneer new ways forward, we remain dedicated to increasing choice, opportunity, and inclusion for people with disability in all aspects of employment,” he said.
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