e-Campus - Work Wellness Institute

Welcome!

Thank you for choosing to take Course 13 in the Inclusion Works: Transformative Recruitment Practices certificate. These courses are for professionals looking to enhance workplace inclusivity and productivity through their recruitment practices. Understanding the nuances of disability management enables professionals to effectively support employees with disabilities, leading to a more diverse and engaged workforce. Additionally, hiring people with disabilities fosters a more inclusive workplace culture and brings unique perspectives and talents, enriching teams and driving innovation and success.

This course focuses on :

Financial incentives are widely used in Canada and elsewhere as a way to address low employment among people with disabilities. They can take different forms, including wage subsidies, human resource supports, job coaching and job carving, retention supports, wrap-around supports, and covering the costs of accommodation. However, there has been little research examining how and when they work to improve employment opportunities, and little documentation on their current use and availability in Canada. Join Emile Tompa from the Institute for Work and Health and Rebecca Gewurtz from McMaster University as we explore what we have learned about the availability and use of financial incentives for employers, as well the experiences of stakeholders.

In this webinar we will

• Describe how financial incentives for employers are used in Canada to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities
• Share the diverse and often conflicting perspectives towards financial incentives for employers among key stakeholders
• Highlight key components of financial incentives for employers that have been identified by key stakeholders (people with disabilities, service providers and employers)

You will learn about recommendations that can be implemented in the workplace:

• There is a need for flexibility within the funding envelopes for employment supports so service providers can determine the best package of supports to help each job seeker secure employment.
• The funding model for employment supports must support collaboration between service providers in order to adequately respond to the complex needs and challenges of people with disabilities and employers.
• People with disabilities need reliable transportation to be able to get to work on time. Flexible hours of work can help resolve this challenge in some cases. Improvements to accessible public transportation would increase employment opportunities for many people with disabilities.
• There is a need to revisit the disincentives to employment within provincial disability benefit programs to ensure recipients are able to work to their capacity.

Take-home message:

• The findings of this research highlight the critical role of job matching, job carving, job coaching, retention and wrap-around supports for successful employment outcomes of people with disabilities.