'I want to work': New hub connects people with Down syndrome to jobs
Canada has roughly one million jobs unfulfilled, and a new tool is looking to connect employers with candidates they may not have expected to hire—which is part of the problem, according to disability advocates.
Inployable is the first-ever employment network created in Canada on LinkedIn, an initiative of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS).
“[These candidates] are reliable, they have low absenteeism,” said Executive Director Laura LaChance.
“These are all business cases—where there is data to support this—that people with down syndrome contribute as much or more than other team members.”
LaChance cited figures from a 2018 Accenture study for the American Association of People with Disabilities, which investigated the financial performance of 140 companies, finding those which hired and supported workers with disabilities saw 28 per cent higher revenue and twice the net income.
Yet in Canada, according to CDSS, over half of those living with Down Syndrome in Canada are either not employed or volunteering their time and labour.
Jessica Rotolo says she was surprised and elated to discover she was being paid at her most recent job.
She works three days a week as a classroom assistant at Centennial Infant and Child Centre, where she herself went to preschool.
“I was so happy it was a paid job because I need money to move out of my house and live on my own,” she told CTV News Toronto, standing with her mother Dorlean who smiled at the answer.
Executive Director of Centennial Shemina Ladak says the centre has been hiring people living with Down Syndrome and other conditions for several years.
“Nobody’s called in sick, they’re always on time, they stay until the end, and they do the tasks that are assigned to them really, really well,” Ladak said.
Dorlean Rotolo says Jessica is like many young people living with Down Syndrome, who can succeed if given the opportunity and support along the way.
“Everything she’s accomplished in her life at 24—I was not even close to doing the things that she has done, so we’re just so proud,” she said.
As for Jessica, she herself best summed up her qualifications.
“I am smart I am resourceful, I’m always on time,” she said.
“I want people to know that I am a confident young woman who is rocking life.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.