Link Up Employment Services for Persons with Disabilities is a charitable, not-for-profit employment services agency with a head office in the heart of Toronto, Ontario, and branch offices in Woodbridge, Ontario, Winnipeg, Manitoba and Vancouver, British Columbia.

When we first opened our doors in 1992, it was in response to two great needs; a need by disabled job seekers for employment suited to their skills and abilities and an equal need by Toronto businesses for qualified, able and committed employees. Since that first day over a decade and a half ago, we have been working steadily to meet and to go beyond meeting both of those needs. Since that day, we have been working steadily and tirelessly and over the years have succeeded in matching thousands of persons with disabilities to the labour market and have assisted hundreds of others in obtaining the skills necessary to set them solidly on a course towards employment.

Link Up attributes much of its success to the wide array of cross-disability programs and services that we have developed and employed over the years. From our initial very thorough assessment of each job seeker’s skills and abilities to our equally thorough analysis of each employer’s particular requirements to our continuing support of job seekers through workshops, seminars and opportunities to meet local business recruiters to our willingness to assist with special needs accommodations, Link Up is ever present and available at every step along the way to employment. Administration of these programs and services by a dedicated staff, a strong clear vision from those who guide our organization and the constant cooperation, support and assistance of our labour market and service provider partners have all added to and multiplied this success.

Every year since our start, we have expanded and grown and reached out further and further, and in 1999, our efforts, work and action on behalf of job seekers with disabilities was recognized when Toronto City Council chose us for their prestigious City of Toronto Access Award. This award, which is presented annually to an organization that has ‘significantly contributed to improving access for people with disabilities in the city of Toronto’, is a great source of pride to us and has since served as an impetus to even greater effort and action on behalf of our clients.

Link Up looks to the future with excitement and with hope, and always to new and better ways to serve our job seekers and our employers. In 2010, we plan to move in a number of new directions. We will begin by partnering with various community organizations to create programs to assist job seekers in developing a solid work ethic, strong work habits, a positive attitude and a real appreciation of work and employment. Soon to follow and very high on our list of priorities are programs to address the very special employment needs of both youth and new Canadians with disabilities. We are keenly aware of the substantial extra barriers these groups face, know well their potential and the diversity of skills and abilities they are able to offer and are determined to assist in any way we can to lower their barriers and allow them their chance to succeed. Link Up also, in growing recognition and appreciation of the importance of safety in the workplace, has been actively looking for fresh ways to address this issue and opportunities to make our contribution to the safety and security of employees and employers. This search has led to a partnership and close collaboration with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and rollout in 2005 of a health and safety awareness program, SafeAbility, that is being taught to job seekers, disabled and non-disabled, across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.

Finally, in 2007, Link Up released ‘From Disabilities to Possibilities: A Guide to Hiring, Training and Retaining People with Disabilities’, an employer’s guide to successfully employing persons with disabilities. Link Up is thrilled to hear that this guide is now being used effectively by private and public sector employers across Ontario and is increasingly being requested by other Canadian provinces.

Link Up’s aim is to reach out to an ever-widening circle of persons with disabilities and to offer an ever-widening range of services to this circle. By continuing to reach out and offer our services, we make it possible for more and more persons with disabilities to make a contribution towards the economic life of their city and allow more and more businesses access to the entire pool of talent available when filling their positions. We will consider ourselves truly successful when all persons with disabilities have been allowed this chance and all companies given access to all job candidates available.