YORKTON - October is Disability Employment Awareness Month, and the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce, together with SaskAbilities, recently hosted a luncheon to discuss and celebrate people who have a disability and contribute to businesses and their communities, helping them to be successful and competitive.
Krista Knutson, with SaskAbilities - Yorkton Region, told those attending the luncheon there are programs designed to break down the barriers to employment which ultimately helps clients achieve their goals in the workplace.
In the process the employer is helped too by making often small changes to help create a valued employee.
The support can include a wage subsidy, and a job coach who helps the client and employer transition to make the job placement successful.
Knutson said a job coach can “help an employee learn good work habits.”
Ultimately, the programs are there to “help achieve long term employment,” said Knutson.
Geoff Jones with Baker Tilly said working with the program has proved a success at their firm.
Initially it was SaskAbilities who reached out.
“It was something we hadn’t been involved in,” said Jones, adding they chose to be open-minded and delved into it further.
“Ultimately we thought there was going to be a fit,” he said.
And that has proven the case.
“So far it’s been a really positive experience for everybody involved,” said Jones.
“We are thankful SaskAbilities reached out to us.”
Bernice McKen highlighted benefits to supportive employment, noting it really comes down to being open minded to possibilities.
“Like anything in life it’s really your mindset,” she said. “Mindset is your lens you look at things through.”
McKen said every individual comes with a different set of skills, strengths and abilities, and that means finding what they need to achieve their best.
It’s a case where the client and employer both need to recognize strengths and how best to utilize those.
That means not making assumptions but rather having a dialogue to understand what clients need to achieve what often goes beyond being a job to being a passion, said McKen.
That is again where a job coach can play a vital role.
“As an employer you have this amazing opportunity to give people a chance,” said McKen.
For more information on what programming is available contact SaskAbilities Partners in Employment at 1-866-671-0569.
