New Employers’ Partnership Table to Help Connect People to Jobs and Businesses to Talent
September 27, 2017, Accessibility Directorate of Ontario
Ontario has established a new Employers’ Partnership Table to advise the government on innovative ways to connect more people with disabilities to jobs and businesses to talent.
Tracy MacCharles, Minister Responsible for Accessibility, was in Toronto today to make the announcement at the Accessibility Innovation Showcase Employer Forum.
The Employers’ Partnership Table supports an important pillar of Access Talent: Ontario’s Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities by engaging employers as champions of inclusion in the workplace. The expert advice supplied by members will move the strategy forward, helping to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities across diverse economic sectors and regions by:
- Championing employment for people with disabilities
- Influencing businesses and non-profits through coalition-building and mentorship
- Identifying best practices and providing subject-matter expertise related to workplace inclusion
- Dispelling myths and misconceptions about employing people with disabilities.
Increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities and creating an inclusive labour force are part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.
Quick Facts
- Ontario recently launched the Discover Ability Network, an online job-matching platform that links employers to job-seekers with disabilities and provides them with hiring resources.
- If every Ontario employer with 20 or more employees hired at least one more person with a disability, about 56,000 people would have jobs—and more than 30 per cent of the people with disabilities looking for work could apply their talents to our businesses and economy.
- With the passage of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Ontario became an accessibility leader, establishing standards in key areas of daily life and implementing them within clear timeframes.
Background Information
Additional Resources
Quotes
“The Employers’ Partnership Table marks a major step forward for Ontario’s ground-breaking strategy to increase jobs for people with disabilities and fuel business growth with new talent. I’m delighted to be partnering with leading employers and look forward to receiving their professional perspectives and real-world insights on how to make inclusive employment the new benchmark for business in Ontario.”
Tracy MacCharles, Minister Responsible for Accessibility
“I’m thrilled to be part of the Employers’ Partnership Table. As a progressive group of business leaders, we are committed to advancing employment for people with disabilities across sectors. We know it’s a way to increase innovation and opportunity.”
Jamie Burton, Vice President, Dolphin Digital Technologies Inc.