Working with over 100 employers in Mississauga, Community Living Mississauga’s Employment Resource Centre values partnering with local businesses to engage talent and foster inclusive hiring. With many business benefits to hiring people who have an intellectual disability, one highlight is the opportunity it provides the business to connect with their community. Over half of consumers are touched by disability in some way, and 78% of Canadians are more likely to buy a product or service from a business that hires people who have a disability. The facts speak for themselves and the myths can be dispelled by recognizing that:

  • Staff retention rates are 72% higher among people who have a disability.
  • Studies show 97% of employees who have a disability rate average or above in safety.
  • 86% of employees who have a disability have average to above-average attendance records.

The cost of hiring someone who has an intellectual disability is minimal, especially when able to access a pre-screened talent pool with a supportive partner, such as Community Living Mississauga’s Employment Resource Centre, who works with employers at no charge to ensure a successful outcome.

Finding the right job is only part of the equation-the right person must be matched. Community Living Mississauga’s Employment Resource Centre works with employment candidates who have an intellectual disability to prepare them for work and pre-screens all employment candidates to ensure when they are put forward for a job, they are the right person. Emmanuel is an example of how employment candidates work with Community Living Mississauga’s Employment Resource Centre to ensure they are ready, willing and able to work.

In the Fall of 2019, Emmanuel completed Community Living Mississauga’s Job Path program, a 6 week work readiness program designed to prepare people who have an intellectual disability for work. After the program, Emmanuel was still unsure of what he wanted to do. Emmanuel was supported to secure a volunteer placement in a kitchen setting to allow him the opportunity to continue to develop his skills, while giving back to the community and having time to figure out where he saw himself working. During his volunteering, Emmanuel built positive relationships with everyone around him and demonstrated that he was ready to work in a kitchen environment. Currently, Community Living Mississauga’s Employment Resource Centre is reaching out to employers who are ready to reap the benefits of inclusive hiring and onboard valuable employees, like Emmanuel.

If you are an employer ready to learn more about inclusive hiring and how it can benefit your business, contact Community Living Mississauga’s Employment Resource Centre at marissama@clmiss.ca.

To learn how Neilsen, a global measurement and data analytics company, promotes inclusive hiring to help prevent poverty, please click here.