Building a Culture of Accommodation and Inclusion Across British Columbia Workplaces

PORT ALBERNI, BC, June 10, 2021 /CNW/ - The BC government recently announced a Workforce Development Grant to NIDMAR which provides BC residents and workplaces with a range of supports designed to improve Return to Work (RTW) and Disability Management (DM) knowledge, programs and practices, and promote Disability Management professionalization, similar to major efforts currently underway across the UK, Belgium, Malaysia and other jurisdictions.

People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by much higher poverty and unemployment rates than almost all other sectors in our society. As over 80% of mental and physical health impairments occur during someone's working life, effective accommodation efforts made by workplaces can play a pivotal role in workers maintaining, what are often good quality jobs, rather than entering the disability social security system (whether public or private) and all the associated obstacles of trying to successfully re-enter the workforce at a later stage.

Early intervention and a workplace commitment towards creative and collaborative solutions in the accommodation process are key in maintaining equitable and gainful attachment to the workforce, especially when national and international evidence clearly indicates rapidly declining long-term employment prospects for those with mental or physical health challenges who are on social security. Research indicates that one year on social security leads to a less than 1% chance of sustained future employment.

Workplace knowledge, skills and education in a range of RTW/DM program, policy and accommodation practices are critical first steps in maintaining equitable employment for the disabled worker, while fostering a workplace culture of inclusion where the hiring of persons with disabilities from outside the organization no longer has the level of disability stigma which we still see all too often across the country and around the world.

This grant recognizes that employers and workers jointly have a key role to play in achieving much improved socio-economic outcomes, which are reflected in successful efforts across Canada and comprehensive strategies in other jurisdictions. The various elements of this unique initiative include:

• Support for DM/RTW Continuing Education
• Scholarship Opportunities in the Bachelor of Disability Management
• Support to Obtain Professional DM Designations
• Support for Workplaces to have an Assessment of their DM program

Detailed information regarding these opportunities can be found at: www.nidmar.ca

SOURCE National Institute of Disability Management and Research