The Ontario government has announced that they will be committing over $6.5 million to support free job training for people with disabilities across the province.
The announcement was made by Monte McNaughton, the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development as well as Raymond Cho, Minister for Seniors and Accessibility.
“It’s no secret that we’re facing a historic labour shortage with 300-thousand jobs going unfilled,” says McNaughton.
“Each one of these is a paycheck going uncollected and a person missing the opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their family.”
McNaughton added that the projects which will receive portions of the funding will connect jobseekers to careers in a variety of sectors, including health care, information technology, retail and hospitality.
Currently in Ontario, more than 2.6 million people live with a disability, much of which find it increasingly difficult to seek employment.
“For far too long, people with disabilities have faced an uphill battle to find work,” says McNaughton.
“Whether someone was born blind, face intellectual barriers, or lost a limb in an accident, we owe it to every single one of them to build an Ontario that leaves no one behind.”
One of the projects receiving portions of the funding is with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind through the Come to Work program to provide specialised employment services for up to 1,300 people who are blind, partially sighted or Deafblind.
“CNIB’s Come to Work program can continue our critical work of breaking down barriers and eliminating stigmas in the workplace for Ontarians who are blind, partially sighted, or Deafblind, while connecting those looking for work with employers,” says Thomas Simpson, Vice President of CNIB Voice and Executive Director for the Come to Work program.
One of the people invited to speak during the press conference was Janna Martinuzzi, Public Relations and Fundraising Ambassador with Community Living Toronto, who spoke about the benefits that these programs have brought her as well as other individuals across the province.
“I like to have a lot of things in my life. Work, travel, spending time with my friends, and exercise,” says Martinuzzi.
“I enjoy working, I work between 6 to 12 hours a week in various departments. I’m learning more about public relations, fundraising, human resources, and finance. I like learning about all these different jobs, it’s important to me to be as independent as possible.”
Other programs that are being supported through this funding include the Community Living Toronto, Do Good Donuts, the Geneva Centre for Autism, and PTP Adult Learning & Employment Programs in partnership with George Brown College. The programs will support 2,470 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who will have the chance to build in-demand skills, receive employment counselling, job coaching, hands-on training, and paid work placements.
The money provided is through the Skills Development Fund, a $700 million initiative, designed to connect jobseekers with the skills and training they need to find careers close to home.
McNaughton added that the Ontario government would continue their work to support people with disabilities across the province and the more projects would be announced in the coming months.
“While this labour shortage is a big challenge, it’s also creating big opportunities if we can give people a hand-up to the training and experience they need to seize them.”
Comments