Bruce County Council has been invited to Light It Up! for disability awareness and employment strategies.
October is the National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).
National Disability Employment Awareness Month is an annual campaign promoting disability inclusion in business and the workplace, which is an initiative of the Ontario Disability Employment Network and spearheaded by Life Directions.
Monica Singh Soares, who gave the presentation as the Business Engagement Specialist from Life Directions Employment says that it’s important to help job seekers with disabilities get gainful employment, especially since 27% of Canadians have some form of disability, and may experience having a disability at some point in their lives.
“What we do is that we focus on improving disability awareness and connect employers with local job seekers who face barriers to employment.”
The impact of disability-inclusive hiring practices not only transforms lives, but also enhances workplace success by increasing productivity, engagement, and profitability.
Singh Soares says “These are all important things for any business to thrive, and it drives cultural change, strengthens brand reputation, and ensures business remains competitive and also committed to including others in their hiring.”
She says that the partnership between Life Directions and ODEN has empowered them to leverage ODEN’s resources and promote inclusive hiring practices, ensuring that businesses have the support they need to build diverse and productive workforces.
“When it comes to job seekers, we are transforming abilities into career opportunities by providing recruitment, training, and retention support. These services are available free of charge to anyone in our community. As we know, there is – especially in northern Ontario, challenges in job employment and retention, particularly pronounced in our vast geographic area – sparse population and reliance in key industries. So when we take a look at powerful inclusive hiring practices, this can actually be one of the solutions to help with this area.”
Organizations that have committed to the campaign within Grey and Bruce Counties include Life Directions, the South Grey Chamber of Commerce, the Municipality of South Bruce, Saugeen Mobility, the Municipality of Saugeen Shores, the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula, Hanover, Brightshores Health Systems, and Grey County.
Outside of the region, Brantford City Hall, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, and the Telus Tower in Toronto all take part in Light It Up! awareness, where they light up their buildings, monuments, or landmarks with purple and dark blue lights. They celebrate that inclusivity on the third Thursday of October, which is October 17th this year.
The purple is to symbolize creativity, harmony, and co-operation, while dark blue represents trust, dignity, authority, professionalism, intelligence, and loyalty.