No business or industry is immune to worker shortages, so it follows that employers today must adopt a recruitment plan that involves many diverse groups -- including people with disabilities.
In 2006 Statistics Canada found that the employment rate for those with activity limitations was 53.5 per cent.
This represented a climb of 4.2 percentage points from five years earlier and closed the gap on the employment rate for able-bodied adults, which was 75.1 per cent in 2006.
Neil MacKenzie, an analyst with Statistics Canada, has said that a shortage of skilled labour may have helped to persuade businesses to consider a wider range of candidates. "We suspect that the employers became more open to being flexible in terms of the work arrangements that people with disabilities may need," he said.
According to the Government of British Columbia, some 300,000 working-age people with disabilities currently reside in BC. Of these, 34,000 hold college diplomas, 30,000 have trade certificates, and 28,000 have a university degree. Yet people with disabilities face an employment rate of some 44 per cent in the province.
Former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan ― a quadriplegic himself ― has helped to increase the profile and acceptance of people with disabilities. “People with disabilities want to contribute and workplaces have a lot to gain by hiring them,” he says. “Motivation, education, loyalty, and gratitude are some of the key traits individuals [who are] often overlooked in the job market bring to a business.”
Sullivan believes that workplaces become more tolerant when a person with a disability is added to the team, creating a healthy environment of acceptance that sends a positive message to other employees and the community.
If you need help reaching this under-utilized workforce, which is ready, willing, and more than able to contribute to your business success, contact WorkAble Solutions, an online resource of information and tools that connects employers to job seekers with disabilities.
To help make your workplace accessible, agencies assisting people with disabilities offer the following advice:
Approach the hiring process as you would with any other applicant.
Every job candidate possesses a specific set of skills and traits that, when weighed against a job, may or may not suit the position. Employers must look beyond the barriers of an applicant with a disability, put the what-ifs, maybes, and myths aside, and consider the skills and talents the individual will bring to your business.
Focus on strengths, not behaviour.
The particular behaviours associated with a disability should not rule out a job candidate. No matter what talent pool applicants have been sourced from, their strengths and ability to do the job should always be the prime factors for an offer of employment.
Be flexible.
Certain disabilities or individuals may require a different approach to the way a job has traditionally been completed. Flexible, creative thinking is required, along with the belief that more than one way exists to perform a task.
Seek assistance if accommodations are required.
Employers should not have to offer a lot of workplace accommodations to make the employment successful. However, on occasion, the physical set-up of a workplace presents a possible hindrance and requires some modification. Many federal and provincial programs offer resources for employers to make the necessary changes without incurring cost. Talk to your local agency about accessing available funds.
Take it case by case.
Just as every customer is different, so too is every employee. When hiring people with disabilities, employers are encouraged to take one experience at a time, focus on the positive instances, and communicate with other employers who wish to hire job seekers with disabilities.
