Joint SEAC Takes Focus on Inclusive Employment Efforts
On the evening of Wednesday, February 26, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) and Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB) Special Education Advisory Committees (SEAC) came together at the Education Centre for a presentation around employment for people with disabilities.
The presentation, Employment: The Gold Standard for Inclusion, was facilitated by Ingrid Muschta, a Diversity & Inclusion Specialist from Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN).
Muschta’s vision is clear and consistent in each of her roles, as a mother of a son with Down syndrome, an ODEN employee, a Licensed Professional Engineer and a community member. “Collaboratively, I want us to engineer a better society,” she says.
In Ontario, 3.1 million people identify themselves as having a disability and only 26.1 percent of working age people in Canada are employed, according to the presentation by ODEN.
Muschta explained that we need to work together as a community to prepare our youths to fill labour shortages by improving awareness about employment for people with disabilities and creating equal opportunity with inclusive settings.
In schools and in the community, Muschta emphasized the importance of increasing a person with a disability’s economic status and self-worth by giving them tasks which are integrated with the general work force, instead of jobs which are segregated and would not be given to someone without a disability.
“We don’t give people the benefit that by providing supports and raising expectations, people can be employable,” Muschta stated.
Examples of local supports include:
- Youth Job Connection
- Focus on Youth Summer Programs
We can teach our children and students the language of work in schools and at home to ensure quality and help increase the opportunity of employment in their future.
It is recommended by ODEN that at school, students with disabilities are taught functional academics, such as reading or writing and are offered career development exploration in high school.
At home, it is important to allow them to explore their interests, have them volunteer in volunteer roles and encourage chores to promote responsibility and show them they are an important part of a team. Each of these opportunities can help a person with a disability recognize their strengths and develop rich social networks.
According to Muschta’s presentation, 3.1 million people in Ontario identify themselves as having a disability and only 26.1 percent of working age people in Canada are employed.
To help youths with disabilities find employment, we need to think practically and continuously revisit the decision to consider employment because it should be presumed a person is employable until proven otherwise.
Muschta closed the presentation with a powerful message, “We should not stop at one spot in time to make a decision about someone.”
To learn more about ODEN and resources available, visit their website at: www.odenetwork.com/
HWDSB’s Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) is committed to working in partnership with the staff and resources of the Board to assure quality educational services for all students.
Updated on Friday, February 28, 2020.