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Career Connections provides skills required to find work

The Brandon Sun - 7/30/2018

Offering those with intellectual disabilities a leg up in gaining employment, Career Connections launched a new vocational development program this week.

Funded by the provincial government, Career Connections executive director Tracy Williams said that unlike some day programs, this one has a clearly defined end goal.

"The goal is to get them in here, teach them the hands-on skills and get them out into the community ... with the ultimate goal of getting them paid employment because everybody deserves that opportunity to work," she said.

At any given time, she hopes to have 18 full-time equivalent students taking part in the program, although depending on individual needs, this might be made up of a greater number of part-time students.

Career Connections hosted an open house for the new program on Thursday, during which Williams hoped to bring in members of the business community to see their new resource first-hand.

After all, she said, when people come into the workforce pre-trained, employers are able to save both time and money.

The new program is being offered to those referenced by the province's Community Living disABILITY Services, and begins with a vocational assessment to determine the individual's employment goals, and which skills and abilities they bring to the table.

They are then funnelled into one of five employment fields: business/marketing, computer technology, consumer/service, construction/industrial and processing/production.

Within these fields are a series of boxes the student goes through, which each contain a specific task for them to complete.

As an example, one of the consumer/service boxes is full of plastic hamburgers and wrapping, and requires the student to properly wrap burgers within industry standard times.

One of the computer technology boxes contains a digital camera and a list of photographs the student is required to take and then download onto a computer.

Williams said this program's key selling point to her was its hands-on focus, which she said allows those with intellectual disabilities the chance to experience what it's like to work in certain fields prior to taking the plunge and entering the working world.

"Everybody deserves the opportunity to work, and this is just going to help them get there," Williams said.

Although the new program's open house has passed, Williams said that employers interested in seeing what it might contribute to their place of work can set up a tour by calling Career Connections at 204-728-9594.

She said that hiring people with disabilities is not only the right thing to do, but it also carries a strong business case.

Loyalty is a big one, she said, adding that those who have been denied employment opportunities in the past and are finally given a chance are more likely to give their work 100 per cent, and their attendance records show it.

"They're just like you or I," she said. "They just want the right to work."

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB

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