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Employment

Ability Edge is a Canadian national internship program for graduates with self-declared disabilities to assist them in gaining career-building work experience. Ability Edge interns have a university degree or college diploma/certificate and are looking to accelerate their professional careers. Ability Edge internships are paid positions that last for 6, 9 or 12 months and are used by employers seeking more diversity in their workforce.

Avia Employment Services focuses on integrating all employment services through a single point of entry, making it easier to help people find work and provide stability for their families. They are a network of Service Providers who are committed to provide innovative employment services for job seekers who live in the following communities:

  • Coquitlam
  • Langley
  • Port Coquitlam
  • Richmond
  • Surrey (Newton)

By operating Employment Services Centres throughout the Lower Mainland, their mandate is to ensure that British Columbians who live in the above communities will receive support and have access to the same services. All job seekers, regardless of background and prior work history, will be able to access the full suite of quality services through their integrated centres.

Additionally, Avia Employment Services has experience in delivering services to all clients including; Immigrants, Youth, Aboriginal people, Francophones, Persons with Disabilities, Survivors of Violence and Abuse, Persons with Multiple Barriers to employment and people living in rural and remote areas.

Be Your Own Boss is a web site dedicated to assisting individuals who are interested in exploring self-employment. It provides information and resources on how to start a business, and it contains a list of self-employment training programs offered through the Federal Government.

Career Planning Guide for Students and Parents – Offers a host of useful information on career planning, post secondary education and training and going to work. This site is offered through the BC government and is accessible to those who use adaptive technology.

The Neil Squire Societyhas been assisting Canadians with disabilities to become more productive members of society by assisting them in gaining employment, volunteer work, or further education. Over the years, the Neil Squire Society has developed innovative programs and services in some of the leading edge assistive technology for people with physical and sensory disabilities.

The Red Book on-line is a 1300-page comprehensive listing of all agencies, services and resources domiciled in Metro Vancouver. This online resource will allow you to find services that you might require as they relate to education, employment, social services and Government services.

Resource Directory for Post-secondary Students with Disabilities is a site hosted by British Columbia’s ministry of advanced Education . This site contains a resource directory, programs and services, funding sources, AT-BC, Institutions and a list of acronyms and their definitions.

Currently Canada does not host a framework for best practices in supported employment. As a result there is wide variability in the practice of supported employment. By implementing the Supported Employment website and the nine guiding principles, they endeavor for better and consistent results and higher rates of employment for job seekers that have a disability.

The Canadian Association for Supported Employment (CASE) was established in 1999 and is a national association of community-based service providers and stakeholders who are active and invested in employment for persons with disabilities. This association strives to promote full citizenship and personal capacity for persons with disabilities through the facilitation of increased labour market participation and outcomes. Through such workforce participation, CASE also promotes social inclusion for Canadians with disabilities.

Over the past year, CASE has embarked on a multileveled research project on best practices in supported employment that involved: a literature review; a nationwide survey; input from members and attendees at the 2013 CASE conference; and content assistance and review by multiple stakeholders across Canada. The result is a one-stop Supported Employment website/tutorial on best practices for supported employment in Canada.

The Supported Employment site is designed to be user-friendly for job seekers, families, employers and support workers. It outlines the nine guiding principles of best practice for supported employment for the job seeker and support worker. The employer section focuses on the return on investment when hiring a person with a disability.

Support workers may choose to answer a short quiz on what they have read in order to receive a certificate to be entered into a database for future employer contact.

Employer requests will be sent to a support worker in their area that has participated in the training, completed the quiz and has been entered into the website database.

Job seekers and families will gain knowledge on what they can expect from a supported employment service, and in turn, what their responsibilities are to achieve employment success.