CASE
Diversifying Workforces with Qualified Employees Experiencing Disability

The rapidly changing business landscape is leading companies to become more responsive, creative, and adaptive in maintaining a diverse workforce comprising individuals with different life experiences, ingenuity, skillsets, and perspectives. However, most employers fail to consider the vast pool of talented job seekers who experience disability, which widens the gap between businesses looking to increase their workforce diversity and skilled applicants struggling to gain employment due to disability.

The Canadian Association for Supported Employment (CASE), a member-based non-profit organization, offers a suite of employment solutions to help businesses diversify their workforce with highly competent employees experiencing disability. Services include training, newsletters, events, HR-driven inclusive practice toolkits, learning and development opportunities, a resource hub, pathways for individualized place based support, and other resources. CASE helps to connect employers with its members, community-based supported employment professionals who guide companies in developing an inclusive policy framework while assisting them to fill vacancies with competent professionals.

“Through our network of supported employment service providers who support companies, most often at no cost, employers can build a more diverse workforce, giving them a competitive advantage,” says Joanna Goode, executive director of CASE.

CASE supports employers through in-house training and resources and by connecting them to a network of community-based service providers. Companies partner with supported employment service providers in their community who assist them throughout an employee’s recruitment, onboarding, retention, and promotion. This ongoing support, at no cost, not only equips employers with a direct line to a talented pool of candidates but also ensures a good match and employee success.

When supported employment service providers connect with an employer, they gather information about the company’s organizational culture and needs regarding employee skills and experience, which are taken into consideration when finding suitable applicants. They might also help companies identify the missing pieces in their recruitment strategies to enable them to target more job seekers experiencing disability. For example, if an employer posts a vacancy on an online platform inaccessible to screen readers, it may exclude potentially talented candidates from accessing that posting. Supported employment professionals work closely with employers to ensure their recruiting practices prioritize the inclusion and accessibility to individuals experiencing disability.

Additionally, where a job description no longer matches a hiring position, supported employment service providers may works with employers to strategically frame their job postings to attract qualified candidates, including persons experiencing disability. After hiring a job seeker, the service provider works with the company to develop tailored supports for the new employee, policies, and practices that support accessibility and inclusion, which benefit all staff.

A supported employment success story might begin with a business accessing CASE’s free online learning and development resources around accessible communications and training to learn how to create an inclusive workplace. They could also look for an employment service provider in their area who will work with them to review their current vacancies and job postings to gain clarity on the required skillsets and qualifications.

The service provider then handpicks potential candidates that match the employer’s needs. Once a candidate is selected, a job coach may be assigned to support newly on boarded staff to settle into their workplace, enhance staff training, and help to problem solve challenges. Later, the service provider can examine promotion pathways to ensure that career growth opportunities are available to employees who experience disability.

Looking ahead, CASE aims to achieve workplace inclusion so that all Canadians who experience disability have equal opportunity to secure meaningful, well paying, and stable employment. This vision will be attained by supporting employers throughout their journey to undertake impactful recruiting initiatives, create healthy and inclusive work environments, and attract qualified personnel.