Workers with Disabilities

By Teresa Andreychuk

CAILC and the Victoria Labour Council (Workers with Disabilities Project), with the assistance of the ILRC of Winnipeg and with funding from Employability and Social Partnerships, Human Resources Development Canada, have initiated an innovative pilot project to assist job seekers and workers with disabilities in guiding their own workplace accommodations.

Through the Accommodation and Partnership Program, individuals with disabilities will assist in developing, an will benefit from, customized training materials and sessions that build the skills necessary for self-directed workplace accommodation.

Consumers with disabilities who gain negotiation and communication skills are in the best position to facilitate the process of workplace accommodation in order to secure desirable and beneficial employment and workplace outcomes. The person with a disability becomes a full partner in his or her accommodation effort, rather than depending overly on rehabilitation professionals.

This project, which lasts until March, 1998, involves preparing and assisting in the development and revision of training materials and workshop modules regrading self-directed workplace accommodation. The project will lead to the development of an approach which can be used by Independent Living Centres and individuals to facilitate workplace accommodations that are directed by consumers.

There are two important functions of this project:
- to provide free skill development workshops, which took place during January and February in Victoria, B.C., for select consumers who were to give feedback on the materials and the process; and
- to make the revised training materials available across Canada, with the purpose of enhancing and facilitating existing employment and workplace training series.

(Teresa Andreychuk is Self-Employment Researcher at CAILC. )

If you would like to know more about this project, please contact:

CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTRES (CAILC)
1004-350 SPARKS STREET
OTTAWA, ON K1R 7S8
TEL: (613) 563-2581
FAX: (613) 235-4497
TTY: (613) 563-2581
E-MAIL: cailc@magma.ca
WEBSITE: http://indie.ca/cailc/english/index.htm