Creating a workforce which reflects our communities

After suffering a workplace accident prior to joining South32, Nigel Barley was left paralysed from the waist down.

The incident led him to take up hand-cycling and, among other achievements, Nigel won a silver medal at the 2012 London Paralympics and cycled 4,437km from Perth to Sydney.

Nigel now works as part of our Pit Control team at Worsley Alumina in Western Australia and regularly shares his powerful message about workplace safety.

Pit Control team members are traditionally required to have experience in haul truck driving, a potential barrier for people with mobility challenges. This is despite the role being largely in logistics and communications.

As a result, we put in place a traineeship to upskill someone to perform this role. Almost all aspects of accessibility were considered with partner organisations helping to ensure that our facilities were up to standard.

At South32, we’re committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace which reflects the communities where we work, and is free from all forms of discrimination, bullying and harassment.

This includes finding ways to include individuals with disabilities who we can support to contribute to our success.