New Programs and Initiatives

By Margaret Hardy

Abilities Plus

Abilities Plus is a unique matching placement service that brokers the skills and abilities of self-employed contractors, who have a disability, to identified outsourcing needs of the business community. The intent is to provide opportunities for successful participation or re-integration into the mainstream of Canadian social and economic life.

Many people with disabilities are interested in self employment because of the greater flexibility it offers over paid employment to accommodate health issues. However, in reality many businesses commenced fail due to a lack of support during the transition from business launch to successful and sustainable self-employment.

Abilities Plus will serve a valuable role by addressing many of the fundamental difficulties that contractors with disabilities face in operating successful businesses. These include balancing physical and emotional energy to find work while completing current contracts; coping with fluctuations in health (i.e. fatigue, pain etc); dealing with physical accessibility issues (i.e. transportation); and managing and growing a business (i.e. limited confidence and experience).

This new program will address these obstacles by providing marketing and on-going business support during the move from start up to successful self employment. This includes assistance to obtain short term or periodic contracts, negotiation of fair market value and connecting qualified entrepreneurs to identified outsourcing needs such as book-keeping, telemarketing, debt collection, market research, data entry, event planning, secretarial work, computer graphics design and desktop publishing.

The initial planning and development stages of this innovative project is currently being pilot tested, in the Abbotsford area, through short term Entrepreneurs with Disability funding provided to Community Futures South Fraser by Western Economic Diversification.

Once established, in the Fraser Valley, it is anticipated that Abilities Plus will become a social enterprise/ cooperative that will be replicated in other communities to create economic self-reliance for contractors with disabilities. Abilities Plus will also build the community capacity to recognize the intrinsic value of persons with disabilities, strong work ethic and quality contribution to business productivity.

What’s more Abilities Plus will be a valuable resource for career practitioners and their clients who have completed some self-employment preparations.

We would like to hear from individuals requiring help in marketing their services and (for this immediate project) who live in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia. Anyone interested in finding out more on how to become involved in this exciting initiative should contact Suzanne Work at (604) 864 5770 or by email at Suzanne.work@southfraser.com.

Margaret Hardy is a Development Consultant with Demal Services Inc. She can be reached at (604) 826 9821 or by email at demal@uniserve.com

By Margaret Hardy

The Fraser Valley EmployAbility Centre

The Fraser Valley EmployAbility Centre operated by Community Futures South Fraser is federally-funded through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) to provide specialized services and resources to promote employment inclusion and build healthy productive communities in the Upper Fraser Valley.

The centre is designed to address the barriers to employment for persons with disabilities through a number of strategic interventions including vocational, aptitude and interest assessments and specialized employment counseling.

The EmployAbility Centre is located in Chilliwack, British Columbia and is aptly named as it represents the values of South Fraser to encourage community participation and nurture community economic development by providing support and services for community well being.

Many factors need to be considered to develop a realistic employment goal in preparation persons with disabilities to enter the labour market or return to work. The EmployAbility Centre takes a comprehensive approach to assessment services so that return to work goals can be focused to accommodate functional abilities and promote successful job acquisition.

Intensive support through the pre employment and work placement stages includes job shadowing and job coaching. In addition, group mentoring sessions that cover pre and post employment topics (i.e. disclosure, dressing for success, making choices) are hosted weekly and open to the community at large.

When a gap in employment ability is evident, skill development may be required through such mechanisms as job shadowing, training on the job or formal educational training. Assistance to obtain appropriate funding to upgrade skills is provided through a written rationale to substantiate potential employability outcomes.

The ability to keep a job often relates to interpersonal behaviour while on the job. To facilitate the complexity of client needs to acquire the ‘soft’ employment skills, such as adaptability and flexibility, the job coach/counselor provides individualized pre and post-placement support to the worker to maximize job retention. In addition a job developer actively promotes the EmployAbility participants to employers within the Upper Fraser Valley communities, sourcing suitable job opportunities and building linkages in the business community.

As well the Disability Resource Centre presents a distinct opportunity to promote awareness and of the positive benefits of social and employment integration. Local residents can access ‘consumer-friendly’ disability information focusing on employment, specific community disability services and supports, accessibility of assistive devices and alternate transportation.

The EmployAbility Centre empowers individuals to recognize and overcome their barriers to employment, make informed and appropriate career choices and obtain and maintain employment within the continuum of community development.

For more information contact: Herb Thiessen
Herb.thiessen@southfraser.com
(604) 864 5770
www.southfraser.com

Margaret Hardy is a Development Consultant with Demal Services Inc. She can be reached at (604) 826 9821 or by email at demal@uniserve.com