In Australia, people with disability continue to experience low employment rates (48%), compared to the national average (79%), and employment is even lower (30%) for people with acquired brain injury (ABI). This paper evaluates a pilot study of a new mainstream employment pathway following ABI, called Employment CoLab.

Employment CoLab was piloted across multiple industries using a mix of reasonable employer adjustments, insurance-funded supports and/or access to capacity-building supports. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with four stakeholders; (1) Employees with ABI (n = 5, age 31–49 years, time since injury M(R) = 11(4–26) years); (2) Employers/co-workers (n = 3); (3) Allied health professionals/vocational providers (n = 4); and (4) Injury insurance funders who hold portfolio responsibility for disability employment (n = 5). An explorative economic evaluation was also conducted to compare the cost to the funder for Employment CoLab compared to traditional employment pathways.

Employment CoLab offered a new approach for people with ABI to gain and sustain open employment. Four major themes were identified from participant interviews: valuing employment and diversity; barriers to mainstream employment; reflections on being employed; and being supported over time. The economic evaluation was unable to detect if the pathway was, or was not, less costly when compared to traditional employment pathways.

Employment CoLab is a person-centred collaborative approach which, together with effective social disability insurance approaches, has built new opportunities for inclusive mainstream economic participation following ABI.

在澳大利亚，与全国平均水平 (79%) 相比，残疾人的就业率仍然较低 (48%)，而患有后天性脑损伤 (ABI) 的人的就业率甚至更低 (30%)。本文评估了 ABI 之后新的主流就业途径（称为就业 CoLab）的试点研究。

就业 CoLab 在多个行业进行了试点，结合了合理的雇主调整、保险资助的支持和/或获得能力建设支持。与四位利益相关者进行了半结构化访谈；(1) 患有 ABI 的员工（n = 5，年龄 31–49 岁，受伤后时间 M(R) = 11(4–26) 年）；(2) 雇主/同事（n = 3）；(3) 专职医疗专业人员/职业提供者（n = 4）；(4) 对残疾就业负有组合责任的伤害保险资助者（n = 5）。还进行了探索性经济评估，以比较就业 CoLab 资助者与传统就业途径的成本。

就业 CoLab 为 ABI 患者获得和维持开放就业提供了一种新方法。从参与者访谈中确定了四个主要主题：重视就业和多样性；主流就业的障碍；对就业的反思；并随着时间的推移得到支持。经济评估无法判断该途径与传统就业途径相比是否成本较低。

就业 CoLab 是一种以人为本的协作方法，与有效的社会残疾保险方法一起，为 ABI 后包容性主流经济参与创造了新的机会。