A new Internet-based initiative by the B.C. government is helping link employers with disabled persons seeking work.
And for Darren Childs, it could be a life-changing connection.
"I will absolutely make use of this service," says Childs, a Vancouver man who has had cerebral palsy since birth and spends most of his day in a wheelchair.
The recently launched WorkAble Solutions website (www. workablesolutionsbc.ca) is sponsored by the Minister's Council on Employment for Persons with Disabilities and B.C.'s Human Resources Management Association (HRMA).
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| Bayne Stanley, Business Edge |
| Darren Childs hopes to use B.C.'s WorkAble Solutions site to find employment. |
Designed to appeal to companies in search of new staff and potential employees, the site provides employment research tools for disabled persons, including job alert e-mails that are sent to prospective employees when a position becomes available that matches their registered profile. There are also links to employment agencies, government job postings and other resources for prospective workers.
The initiative is good news to representatives of other sectors of the disabled workforce. "We welcome this initiative as a chance to provide more opportunities for our clients," said Cindy Behrmann, director of development and communications for B.C.'s Developmental Disabilities Association.
Childs, 42, says the Internet and other technologies play a big part in levelling the playing field when persons with disabilities are looking for work.
"For disabled people, making use of technology like WorkAble Solutions really helps with job research because travel issues and things of that nature are eliminated," he says.
According to a 2004 report prepared for the Minister's Council for Employment for People with Disabilities and the B.C. Ministry of Human Resources, 530,130 British Columbians - one in seven - live with a disability.
Of that population, more than half are of working age, between 15-64. The study noted that despite educational levels that are nearly on par with the able-bodied work force, "persons with disabilities in B.C. were 250 per cent more likely to be unemployed than those without disabilities (21 per cent versus six per cent)."
B.C. Human Resources Minister Susan Brice says this is a pool of talent that the province can not afford to waste. She notes that B.C. businesses will need more than a million new employees in the next 10 years, and says the website can connect disabled persons who want to work with employers looking for their skills.
The site is equipped to be compatible with screen-reading software, but Childs warns that, like any kind of technology, it has its drawbacks.
"The double-edged sword is to make sure the technology is available to any disabled person who wants to access it," he says. "For somebody who is a quadriplegic who uses a 'sip and puff' system or spoken-word directed software, sometimes accessing the equipment isn't possible in a public place like a library."
Behrmann, of the Developmental Disabilities Association, says her group is still taking a look at the information, "but we hope that our folks will be well addressed by this new program."
The association (DDA) was first founded in 1952 by a group of 12 parents as an advocacy group. By the 1990s the group was the largest of its kind in Canada. The organization changed its name in 1998 from the Vancouver-Richmond Association of Mentally Handicapped People.
"We assess the skills and abilities of our clients and match them with employers who may have a job appropriate to someone with a developmental disability," Behrmann says, adding that DDA staff members will be on hand to assist clients to gain access to the WorkAble Solutions website as needed.
The provincial ministry is also casting a wide net across the B.C. business community in hopes of gathering the interest of as many potential employers as possible.
"Even at this early stage we're pretty excited about the variety of companies that have become involved, including London Drugs, the Vancouver Airport and Thrifty Foods," says Brice. "We are encouraged by the number of people in decision-making roles that see a potential, not just for the social benefits, but for the good business case in hiring these dedicated, loyal and hard-working employees."
Bonnie Campbell, vice-president of public relations and human resources at Victoria-based Thrifty Foods, offers a business perspective on the potential of the WorkAble Solutions site.
"Thrifty Foods has a long practice of hiring persons with disabilities," says Campbell. "This new initiative is certainly a good opportunity to access people who are looking to work at our company."
Campbell says the company hasn't decided how WorkAble Solutions BC will fit into its long-term plans. "We're already involved in Vancouver with the Greater Vancouver Business Network and post jobs on their website, but in most cases we don't actively recruit a lot of positions," she notes.
"A lot of our jobs aren't actually posted and people generally come in to apply in our stores, so we haven't 100-per-cent determined how we will partner with WorkAble Solutions as yet."
Campbell is also a member of the Minister's Council on Employment for Persons with Disabilities and was active in the development of the WorkAble Solutions template. She says the council has been looking at a number of ways to generate employment for persons with disabilities.
Meanwhile, Brice says the next phase will be to train a sales force of three young people with disabilities to carry the message to businesses around the province.
"The initial focus will be on the major centres, but we hope to spread out across the province as soon as we are able to do so," she says.
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(Karen Dyer can be reached at karen@businessedge.ca)
