LinkUp Employment Services Across Canada
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Winnipeg Reports
Link Up expands to Manitoba and British Columbia
Effective July 2005, Link Up Employment Services opened its doors and began offering services in two new Canadian provinces – Manitoba and British Columbia.
Long successful in the Greater Toronto Area, Link Up has for some time sought to introduce its unique employment services model to job seekers with disabilities in other provinces as well. Earlier this year, we obtained backing from Social Development Canada to make Link Up a national organization and were able to move ahead as we hoped and expand our operations to Winnipeg, Manitoba and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Link Up looked at geographic, socioeconomic and labour market factors when choosing Winnipeg and Vancouver as its newest locations. Many working age persons with disabilities live in these cities, approximately 50% of these individuals are unemployed (or not in the labour force) and therefore a great need for our services was determined. Although there are already service providers assisting job seekers with disabilities in Winnipeg and Vancouver, very few specialize as Link Up does in helping the very hardest-to-serve to find employment. This is one of our niches and we will seek to apply our successful employment strategies particularly to this group of job seekers within these provinces.
Link Up, with its Toronto client base of over 50% visible minorities is also highly experienced at serving persons with disabilities from a diversity of ethnoracial backgrounds and will therefore also seek to especially serve these clients in Manitoba and British Columbia. In Winnipeg particularly, this population is growing very quickly and is extremely underemployed.
Winnipeg and Vancouver are only first steps in Link Up’s plans to extend its programs and services to every province and territory in Canada. We know across the country every year the need for employment and for employment services by persons with disabilities is growing rather than reducing. The population is aging, more workers have disabilities and therefore more agencies specialized in working with employers to best utilize the talents of these workers are needed. Link Up is eager to make its contribution towards meeting that need.
Vancouver Office Reports
May, 2007
On April 28, 2007, Link Up Vancouver held its first ever fundraising event – Kings, Queens and Jokers. The event highlighted the comedic talents of a local standup comedy team of mental health consumer/survivors. The evening was a smashing success with over 70 audience members laughing it up with Stand Up for Mental Health and dancing and singing along with Jamie Lee Hamilton’s Legends on Stage – all of them recovering addicts and alcoholics. An amazing time was had by all, including the staff of the Rhizome Café which volunteered its restaurant to host the occasion. Another outcome of Kings, Queens and Jokers is the now raised profile of Link Up in the Greater Vancouver Area and a resultant increase in inquiries about what Link Up can do to help both job seekers with disabilities and local employers seeking qualified candidates.
Thanks to all for working together to make this event such a huge success! May it be the first of many.
Two participants in the Kings, Queens and Jokers program
get ready to wow the crowd.
Colleen Bob (left) and Roberta Phillips of Link Up Vancouver (right)
set a rousing rhythm for their portion of the show.
The audience enjoyed the often hilarious observations of
the talented comedians of Stand Up for Mental Health .
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Kings, Queens and Jokers was conceived and organized by Link Up’s Roberta Phillips (left) and Ruth Meta (right), who both got into the spirit of the evening.
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March, 2007
British Columbia in general and Vancouver specifically can feel the air charged with excitement over the upcoming 2010 Olympics and Paralympic Games. Link Up Vancouver continues to build upon its inaugural year to develop a higher profile supporting those with self-declared disabilities in their pursuit of employment and meaningful quality of life.
In the last six months, Link Up Vancouver has continued to build employer relationships. Staff have worked tirelessly to network with service providers and government representatives, attend conferences, information sessions and events.
Now in its second year in Vancouver, Link Up has been able to expand its support of clients by being able to offer training and wage subsidies to encourage employers to consider hiring clients who self-declare a disability.
RBC (Royal Bank), DRAKE International, Concert Properties, Istonish Inc, City of Port Moody, Cineplex Odeon, Vancouver Aquarium, Pacific National Exhibition, The Bay, Mountain Equipment Co-op and VEVEX are some of the companies and organizations which have hired Link Up clients in Vancouver. Additionally, Link Up Vancouver continues to develop relationships with companies such as FRMC Incorporation, Ference & Weiker Co., Edgewater Casino, London Drugs, Robertson Telecom, Future Shop, Kayak Manufacturing, The Bookcase, The Ethical Bean, MDA Corporation, and Can-Am Satellites.
Ongoing dialoguing with Vancity’s ABLED (Advice & Business Loans For Entrepreneurs with Disabilities) Program and The Diversity Program, City of Vancouver has been a catalyst for increased exposure for Link Up services. The Vancouver office continues to receive referrals from such diverse service providers as Bowman Employment Services, Maple Ridge, BC, The Canadian Paraplegic Association, Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance, YWCA, Pathways Job Fair, Family Services of Greater Vancouver, The Canadian Epilepsy Society, IAM Cares, Landell & Associates, Triumph Vocational Services, Cornerstone Academy, Neil Squire Foundation, Dress For Success, Canadian Society for Social Development, Youth Spot Employment and 411 Seniors Centre Accessibility Fair.
Employment Consultants attended a two-day Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling (CERIC) Conference and continue to attend informational workshops at the Vancouver Centre For Abilities.
Summer 2006 brought the Vancouver office the support of a talented and gifted young student through the Service Canada Summer Employment Program for Disabled Students. This proved to be a wonderful learning experience for all participants.
Link Up Vancouver is working on innovative programming, guest speakers and workshops to highlight the participation of our clients as Vancouver heads into the home stretch of planning for the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics.
September, 2006
The summer of 2006 saw Link Up Vancouver sponsor a co-op student from UBC whose name is Karen Chang. Karen is approaching her 4th year undergraduate degree in Statistics from UBC. While visually-challenged, Karen immediately set to work to develop a statistical framework in which to put meaning into her work with Link Up. Over the summer, she participated in promotional activities, client interviews, job search strategies. The assistive devices she used for her daily functioning, both at work with us in Vancouver and as she approached her academic career gave Link Up staff a clearer insight into young people with disabilities as they prepare to take their place in the workforce. While the focus of co-operative education is to provide young, post-secondary educational students with practical, on-the job experience, Link Up Vancouver staff felt that the learning experience was (and is) a two way street.
Link Up is committed to supporting young people with disabilities in their search for meaningful work. Young people with disabilities today, through their own educational development and the availability of more technology and assistive devices, feel more comfortable and confident that they will take their rightful place in society. The more confident they feel, the easier our job is in combatting concerns of potential employers.
Our experience with Karen this summer was a win/win experience for all involved. Karen met many people who have various types of disabilities and learned their stories. Link Up staff worked closely with visual aids which they had only academically experienced in the past. And Link Up clients met a confident young woman, born in China who knows where she’s going and how to get there.
Vancouver Job Fair
March, 2006
All employers felt benefit from participating and CIBC commented afterwards that “they were surprised at the number and quality of the resumes they received representing those with qualified banking experience”. Many attendees requested that Link Up Vancouver host another such event in the near future.
