The federal government is looking to make Canadasa国际传媒檚 workforce more inclusive by providing funding for six organizations across the country that aim to support workers with disabilities.
Carla Qualtrough, minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion, visited Ethos Career Management Group in Nanaimo on Thursday, June 1, to announce a $16-million investment in programs that offer training and work opportunities for Canadians living with disabilities.
Along with funding for Ethossa国际传媒� Skills Quest 4 Success project, an online course which focuses on personal employability skills such as communication, digital skills and creativity, the minister also announced an additional $3 million to enable Ethos to establish an Entrepreneurs on the Rise program targeted to self-employment for women with disabilities.
sa国际传媒淢ore employers need to recognize the importance of disability inclusion in their worksa国际传媒a国际传媒� said Qualtrough. sa国际传媒淲e wonsa国际传媒檛 reach our full economic potential unless every we remove all the barriers and the obstacles faced by this untapped talent pool. In a time of labour shortage, it couldnsa国际传媒檛 be more necessary or relevant to take that big step as an employer and confidently hire, and you will reap the rewards.sa国际传媒�
Th minister pointed to a study from the Conference Board of Canada that found that if 850,000 Canadians with disabilities who are currently either unemployed or underemployed had barriers removed to allow them to participate fully in the workforce, sa国际传媒測ousa国际传媒檝e got a two-per cent bump in the GDP.sa国际传媒�
Partnered with Community Futures B.C., the Entrepreneurs on the Rise project will provide approximately 200 women with disabilities in B.C. an opportunity to create and implement their own business concepts and plans over two years. A news release said the participants will get access to fundamental skills that will enable them to confidently launch their own businesses.
Deborah Bromley, CEO of Ethos, said she researched women with disabilities for her masters degree and research showed that women face greater challenges and different challenges then men in the workforce.
sa国际传媒淲hile theresa国际传媒檚 still barriers for women, what the research has shown is programs like this one will help them overcome the barrierssa国际传媒a国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淥ne of the two ways that women can come out of poverty and become employees is through entrepreneurship or self-employment, and mentorship, and our program has both.sa国际传媒�
Along with Ethos, other beneficiaries of the funding include the Saskatchewan Abilities Council, Team Work Cooperative, CBDC Resigouche, Canadian Hard of Hearing Association and the Canada Safety Council.
YESTERDAYsa国际传媒橲 MOST-READ:
bailey.seymour@nanaimobulletin.com
Like us on and follow us on
