Tapping Into the Talents of Employees With an Intellectual Disability

Businesses in Canada are struggling with worker shortages. Establishments are reducing their hours of operation because they can’t find dependable, consistent staff. Staff turnover is costing employers money and time. 

Meanwhile, only one in four working-age people with an intellectual disability are employed. Among all people with disabilities, people with an intellectual disability experience the highest rate of unemployment. 

An inclusive Canadian economy can address both these issues, supporting businesses and employees with disabilities to come out ahead. 

Where are the Employees With an Intellectual Disability? 

Look around your workplace. Are there employees with an intellectual disability? When you go to the grocery store or a restaurant, are you served by an employee with an intellectual disability? Do you see people with an intellectual disability working for city transit, at government offices, or at the pharmacy? Granted, some disabilities are invisible. It is the right of employees to choose whether they disclose their disability. But, given that there are around 500,000 working-age people with an intellectual disability in Canada, this population should be well-represented in the Canadian workforce. So where are they?

Even though people with an intellectual disability are ready, willing, and able to work in meaningful jobs and careers, many are still confined to sheltered work settings. These are places where people with disabilities are separated from their co-workers without disabilities and are denied equal pay for the work they do. While these settings are often promoted as “training” programs, a large proportion of people with an intellectual disability remain in sheltered settings long-term, some for more than 20 years. Many provinces in Canada still have employment laws that permit people with disabilities to be paid less than minimum wage. 

Why are People With an Intellectual Disability Still Excluded From Employment?

There is a longstanding misconception that people with disabilities are incapable of working in the mainstream labour force. Outdated models promote the idea that people with an intellectual disability need a “separate and special” place to spend their adult lives.

These myths mean that many teachers don’t support students with an intellectual disability to explore career options or apply for post-secondary education. Parents and friends don’t ask a child with a disability what they want to be when they grow up. Government programs don’t provide sufficient funding for disability support so youth can get after-school jobs, summer jobs, or attend college or university. Employers don’t interview, hire, or promote people with an intellectual disability in their businesses.

Additional barriers to employment are imposed by government programs. Life with a disability costs more money. Accessible transportation, medical supplies, dietary supplements, assistive technology—it all adds up. Many people with disabilities rely on government health coverage or income benefits to meet their basic needs. Instead of supporting people to go to work, many government programs impose strict earning restrictions and place people at risk of losing their health benefits if they choose to go to work. This is a risk that many people with disabilities can’t afford to take.  

What Does This Exclusion Do to the Canadian Economy? 

Excluding people with an intellectual disability from the Canadian workforce is hurting us all. More than 40% of people who live in poverty in Canada have a disability. With poverty comes reduced physical and mental health outcomes and reduced quality of life. Meanwhile, employers miss out on the time and talents of valuable employees, and our economy is impacted by reduced tax dollars and less patronage of local businesses. 

In contrast, when people with disabilities are included in the workforce, the benefits are felt by the employee, employer, and their customers.  

People with disabilities who are well-supported in their work build meaningful interpersonal relationships, experience more financial stability, and can pursue personal and professional goals, including investing in a home and saving for retirement. 

Employers who hire inclusively benefit from higher employee retention, reduced absenteeism, and greater innovation in their workplace. This, in turn, contributes to greater productivity and financial outcomes. 

Customers receive high-quality service from a team that reflects the diversity of our communities. In fact, 92% of individuals regard companies that hire people with a disability more favourably than their competitors.  

Because people with disabilities and their families are also consumers, the accessibility and inclusivity of businesses also impact where customers choose to spend their money. A 2017 survey undertaken by the National Business and Disability Council found that 78% of consumers are more likely to purchase goods and services from a business that takes steps to ensure access for individuals with disabilities at their locations.

How can Canada Build an Inclusive Workforce and Strong Economy? 

The good news is there’s a clear path forward. Inclusion Canada and initiatives like Ready, Willing & Able have clearly identified ways for the government, industry, human resource professionals, and employers to build a more inclusive workforce that meets the needs of everyone involved and contributes to a stronger Canadian economy. 

Employers and Human Resource Professionals 

Employers have the unique opportunity to welcome people with disabilities into their workplaces.

• They can clearly communicate their commitment to inclusion when recruiting for jobs and considering promotions.
• They can share their job postings with accessibility offices and employment agencies that specialize in working with candidates with intellectual disabilities.
• They can welcome job applications and offer interviews in a variety of formats. 
• They can offer appropriate support and accommodations to their employees. 59% of job accommodations cost nothing, while those that do have a cost average of around $500 or less.
• They can compensate employees with disabilities at the same wage as employees without disabilities. 
• They can tap into free resources like The Inclusive Workplace to get how-to information for all stages of the employment process. 

Governments

Governments at the federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal levels have important responsibilities to help people with disabilities reach employment levels that are proportionate to the rest of the population. 

• They must lead by example. The government is a major employer and should hire and retain employees with disabilities at all levels and in all sectors of the civil service. 
• They must commit to using government funds for programs and services that align with the goal of inclusive employment. This means transitioning existing sheltered settings and segregated training programs (which are largely government-funded) to become inclusive, employment-first initiatives. 
• They must restrict the use of wage subsidies and re-allocate this money to support people with disabilities to secure new meaningful employment, retain their jobs, and advance in their careers. Wage subsidies should be limited to student job programs that apply to youth, both with and without disabilities.  
• They must expand access to ongoing employment support for people with disabilities who need long-term support. 
• They must fund programs that support youth with an intellectual disability to pursue inclusive part-time employment and summer employment during their high school years. Paid employment during high school is one of the best predictors of employment as an adult with a disability.  
• They must support people with disabilities to go to work by reducing barriers like earning restrictions and expanding access to health coverage. 
• They must expand and support opportunities to pursue entrepreneurship and self-employment. 
• They must remove barriers to participation and expand access to inclusive post-secondary education opportunities.

Industry and Unions

Industry and unions provide excellent opportunities to work together to eliminate barriers to inclusive employment. 

• They can model meaningful participation best practices at meetings and events. Listen Include Respect, a resource created by people with an intellectual disability, helps organizations with practical guidelines about communication, meetings, employment, and more. 
• They can address myths about workplace safety. For example, the need for accommodation among employees with disabilities does not mean that they work less safely than employees without disabilities.  
• They can hire people with an intellectual disability. Unions are employers, too. Firsthand experience with inclusive employment better equips unions to support their members and champion inclusion when negotiating collective agreements.  
• They can ensure a level of flexibility that allows existing jobs and job descriptions to accommodate employees with a disability to fill these positions. This includes job descriptions that are written in plain language and that focus on essential skills. 
• They can support their members by establishing committees or including sessions at their conferences focused on inclusive hiring and supporting employees with disabilities. These initiatives should be led by people with lived experience and include systems to ensure action and accountability. 
• They can proactively promote a commitment to inclusive employment.
• They can fulfill existing commitments to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by encouraging the hiring of employees with an intellectual disability. 
• They can nurture relationships with employment agencies that specialize in working with candidates with an intellectual disability.

Together, we can build a stronger Canadian economy that benefits from the skills and talents of employees with an intellectual disability.