Easter Seals BC/Yukon is celebrating National AccessAbility Week from May 26 to June 1, 2024, a week to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Canadians with disabilities and recognize the work of allies, organizations and communities that are removing barriers throughout BC.
Easter Seals BC/Yukon is taking the opportunity to highlight the importance of skill development and on-the-job training programs for persons with disabilities in our province, to support their entry into the BC workforce so we can move forward together.
Easter Seals BC/Yukon’s CompassWorks program is a full-time, 22-week, on-the-job work experience program with an additional three weeks of follow-up support, that runs out of the Easter Seals House in Vancouver.
The program provides certification for adults with disabilities to obtain entry-level employment in the hospitality industry, including essential training with WHMIS, FoodSafe, Superhost and more.
The CompassWorks program was created in consultation with hotel and hospitality industry experts to provide an accessible and functional training program that would translate to BC’s industry needs.
With hotels in BC continuing to face labour shortages, programs like CompassWorks help open the door to a newly trained and enthusiastic workforce.
“We designed the CompassWorks program (to) provide new skill development including resume building, interview skills, and to provide follow-up support with their job search, alongside their specific hospitality training,” said President & CEO of Easter Seals BC/Yukon Lisa Beck.
“(The) CompassWorks programs provide life-changing training and on-the-job experience for young adults, creating a trained workforce for our hospitality industry and helps to remove barriers to employment for adults with disabilities.”
CompassWorks allows participants to directly engage in the many facets of hotel work, in a real-world setting at Easter Seals House.
Easter Seals House is a hotel-like property that provides a place to stay for families when travelling to Vancouver for medical treatment and appointments.
It is also a place of respite for parents and caregivers of persons with disabilities to give them a place to rest and recharge.
The house operates like a hotel, with housekeeping and front desk services, allowing CompassWorks participants to job shadow in a live training environment at a pace that meets their unique needs.
Programs like Easter Seals Compass and CompassWorks are innovative in their hands-on approach, customized for the specific learning needs of the disability community they serve.
Easter Seals is seeking sustainable funding through sponsor and employer support and community donations, to continue to offer these life-changing training programs to the disability community, as government funding has stalled.
A Statistics Canada survey on disability noted that education and skills development are essential to closing the employment gap between people with and without disabilities.
Programs like CompassWorks provide this essential education and training, reducing the barriers to working for an engaged workforce.
Easter Seals BC/Yukon is taking this National AccessAbility Week to engage in the 2024 theme of “Forward Together: Accessibility and Inclusion for All” and inviting our community to come together in support of these life-changing programs to make our province more inclusive and accessible for all British Columbians.
To learn more about Easter Seals and the CompassWorks program visit www.eastersealsbcy.ca.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
