about

WHAT WE DO

Our Mission and Vision

We focus on strengthening the career adaptability of persons with disabilities and supporting Canada's growing accessible ecosystem so that all Canadians can look to a barrier-free future including communities, workplaces and services.

The project envisions diverse and vibrant communities in which all members have the opportunities for personal and social development needed to fully participate, socially and economically, in Canadian society.

WHY WE DO IT

Our Story

All Canadians have the right to participate in Canadian society fully, and yet individuals with disabilities continue to face challenges that include underemployment and unemployment, limited opportunities and access to post-secondary education, negative attitudes and discrimination in the workplace, and displacement due to labour market conditions. The good news is that now more than ever, there is the impetus to include persons with disabilities in all facets of social life, particularly employment.

The Mid-Career Workers with Disabilities (MCWD) project, operating with grant funding from Canada's Future Skills Centre, aims to address challenges and foster a barrier-free work environments by targeting the adaptive response skills development needs of individuals with disabilities and supporting employers and organizations efforts to build positive disability climates that support all enable all of us to thrive.

WorkAbly.ca is the culmination of the MCWD project. The website houses the resources developed by project partners, research reports and additional resources shared by the partners and affiliates. However, WorkAbly.ca is much more than just a resource clearinghouse; it offers space for persons with disabilities and their allies to learn explore employment and other opportunities and build community.

THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT!

What's next?

WorkAbly is designed to grow and evolve, and we'll continue adding new content and features over the next few months and beyond. We aim to become the hub for disability and work- a space for community connectedness and opportunities and a vibrant forum for discussion, learning and exchanging ideas to contribute meaningfully to barrier-free work in Canada.

Yes, it's a lofty goal, but we like to dream big!

Contact us if you would join or support our journey.

Our Community Partners

WorkAbly is made possible through partnerships!

This project is made possible through ongoing collaboration between researchers from 4 postsecondary institutions (Ontario Tech University, Nipissing University, Durham College, and York University) and 4 not-for-profit provincial and national organization (Quebec Association for Equity and Inclusion in Post-Secondary Education (AQEIPS), Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD), National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)).

Frequently Asked Questions

Career adaptability can be thought of as a set of attitudes, behaviours, and competencies that individuals use in fitting themselves to work that suits them. Research evidence demonstrates a strong relationship between developing career adaptability and positive career and employment outcomes (e.g., attaining employment, career/job/life satisfaction).

Career adaptability can be conceptualized as consisting of four key dimensions: concern (planning, being planful), control (decision-making, being decisive), curiosity (exploring, being inquisitive), and confidence (problem-solving, being efficacious). Each of these dimensions is associated with career adaptive responses – a set of adaptive behaviours, beliefs, and barriers to dealing with career development tasks and changes in work and career conditions. Together, these skills make up an individual’s career adaptive responsiveness.

WorkAbly is created and operated by a team of researchers from Ontario Tech University, Nipissing University, York University, and Durham College in partnership with several disability organizations at the provincial and national disability organizations (see above ). The website is part of a project funded through a grant from the Future Skills Centre. Our research team is diverse, consisting of members with the lived experience of disability and those who work in allyship with individuals with disabilities.