Two Manitoba, Canada, groups believe employers should be looking to a large, untapped section of people who are often overlooked to help fill the labour void.
“The number one issue that I hear from businesses across the province is the challenge in terms of finding employees and I don’t think that’s an issue that’s going to go away any time soon,” Manitoba Chamber of Commerce CEO Chuck Davidson told Global News.
“It doesn’t matter what industry it’s in, whether it’s in technology, whether it’s in someone working in retail or restaurants … everybody seems to be looking for people at this point in time.”
Davidson said employers need to begin contemplating “non-traditional” hires to help fill the openings.
“There’s other pools of potential employees that are out there that we need to be looking at and trying to engage that and bringing that into our workforce is going to be absolutely critical,” he said.
“And those businesses that have been able to do that properly and that have been successful with it.”
Manitoba Possible and the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce are partnering up to help employers see the benefits of hiring people who live with disabilities and believe it could assist with the present labour shortage problem.
There are about 170,000 Manitobans who live with a disability, according to Manitoba Possible, or approximately 14 per cent of the province’s population, and many are looking for employment.
“(The numbers that I’ve seen) are close to 35,000 people between the ages of 15 and 64 that would be considered to be someone with a disability that are unemployed,” Davidson said.
Manitoba Possible has been working tirelessly for decades to match employers and job seekers but explained that the pandemic and the current labour shortages have brought forth a new opportunity.
“This is forcing employers to look beyond their typical labour pool … to look at this untapped, diverse labour pool that we’re sitting on,” said Erika Bewski, program manager of adult and employment services at Manitoba Possible. “That just might be the solution to their vacancy issues.”
Bewski said many employers often overlook hiring people with disabilities when many are highly skilled and qualified.
“Fifty per cent of the individuals in Manitoba that have a disability have a post-secondary degree or diploma,” she said.
“That’s skilled labour out there that a lot of employers aren’t going to first when they’re looking for people to fill their vacancies.”
Bewski said they are working diligently to demystify falsehoods and fears some employers have about hiring people with disabilities.
“Probably the biggest challenge for us is ignorance on the behalf of employers. I don’t think it’s it’s an intentional ignorance. I think it’s just the fear that I’m going to make a mistake and something’s going to happen and this person is going to get hurt and so I just won’t bother,” she said.
Instead, Bewski said employers need to take advantage of a person’s abilities.
“Look at what the person brings to the table and don’t look through that disability lens, which I think is what we see,” she said. “Every single person with a disability is like every other single person. They’re unique in their own right. They come in with their own set of abilities.”
The group also works to help those with disabilities overcome barriers with confidence and help them prepare for the interview process.
“What we hear from the job seekers that come to our agency is as soon as the employer knows I have a disability, I know right away the interviews are over. They’re not going to hire me … I can tell,” she said.
For those with invisible disabilities, many battle with the decision of whether or not to reveal it to the employer during the interview process or ever.
But Bewski said people just need to have an open mind.
“Just give us an opportunity, interview the person. See what you think. No commitment to hire. Just let us let them in,” she said. “Give them the chance.”
