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VANCOUVER – A new interactive job site is one of several new tools announced today by Human Resources Minister Susan Brice to make it easier for businesses to recruit the employees they need and provide employment opportunities for British Columbians with disabilities who want to work.
“B.C. businesses will be needing more than a million new employees in the next ten years,” said Brice, “and there are about 300,000 working-age British Columbians with disabilities – and many of them want to work.
“For the first time, we have a contemporary web-based job source to connect British Columbian employers and job seekers with disabilities, and we have a practical guide based on B.C. research to help employers hire people with disabilities.
“Together, these new resources provide an important support for the government’s $60 million investment in employment programs and services for British Columbians with disabilities.”
For the B.C. Human Resources Management Association, the new employment tools are a practical way for the organization’s 3,000 members to stay ahead of staffing demands.
“The new job site and handbook will be a big help to business in the decade ahead, and they will certainly help open doors for people with disabilities,” said HRMA president David Berrington. “We’re ensuring that each one of our members has access to them.”
To mark the UN International Day of Disabled Persons, Minister Brice announced the new employment resources while hosting an event called WorkAble Solutions: Taking Action on Employment for People with Disabilities. The eventattracted more than 200 business executives to address employment opportunities for both B.C. businesses and people with disabilities.
Last month, Premier Gordon Campbell committed $55 million per year to increase rates for persons with disabilities by $70 to $856 per month – the largest rate increase in the province’s history. Persons with disabilities receive British Columbia’s highest rate of assistance, plus a range of additional supports, from low cost bus passes to enhanced medical coverage, including MSP, Pharmacare, dental and optical coverage, medical supplies and transportation. In addition, the B.C. government has doubled the earnings exemption to encourage persons with disabilities to work as they are able.
Copies of the following materials prepared by the Minister’s Council on Employment for Persons with Disabilities are available at: http://www.workablesolutionsbc.ca/ online. · An Employer Handbook: Recruiting and Retaining Persons with Disabilities in B.C. · Research Report on Recruiting and Retaining Persons with Disabilities in B.C. · The WorkAble Solutions Corporate Video.
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