BEAVER CREEK │ Business is About Community

Healthy Communities =  Community Economic Growth │ Community Economic Growth = Healthy Communities

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KEY CONCEPTS: holistic business-community development, economic development, healthy communities, mental health

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Employers in this region of rural Yukon identify the shared dilemma of finding and retaining reliable, skilled employees. The crux of the dilemma according to this employer are core personal and community issues that present barriers to the children and young people achieving the education and social skills they need to pursue employment and life goals.

This employer provides a range of employment and social supports for employees in an effort to ensure employees who are struggling with personal challenges such as drug and alcohol abuse, mental health problems, so social-emotional-behavioural issues. This pro-active approach is not only a feature of this employer’s community responsibilities as an organization but also its strategic approach to develop business services.  Simply put, economic stability and growth is at the core of healthy, sustainable communities – and healthy communities are a key factor in supporting economic development. This employer recognizes that both factors must be addressed to support progress both the people and businesses of rural Yukon. This two-pronged approach is part of a comprehensive plan to address many of the issues shared by employers we’ve encountered on this consultation.

This employer talked about the importance of addressing mental health issues, for the whole of the community – noting that most people encounter personal social-emotional challenges at some point in their life. This employer believes that it is important to work towards removing the negative perceptions and stigma associated with mental health and addictions problems. A Yukon Disability Employment Strategy that addresses mental health will support employers efforts to increase communication and, as a result, support for employees and the wider community – aiding efforts to promote healthy communities and community economic development all at once. 

HAINES JUNCTION │ EDUCATION · EDUCATION · EDUCATION

Education as the panacea for disability employment?

KEY CONCEPTS: job satisfaction; relevancy in learning

Continuing from our last post on Haines Junction, we thought it important to highlight the importance of education for reducing the barriers to work and productivity. In fact, knowledge and skills development is not a disability employment issue, but rather it is just good business sense. Most employers agree, retaining quality employees and motivating staff to work for the wider benefit of the business, day in day out, people need to find meaning in their work. Sometimes, meaning in the work comes through pursuing a career and professional development path – to advance personal skills and expand earning potential and employment opportunities. In short, job satisfaction is key. And a big part of job satisfaction comes through feeling meaningful progress in work.

Professional development, training, and creating readiness-to-work is the business of our education providers (In addition to learning for learning sake, of course).

When we talked about education and the job of supporting individuals, businesses, and communities in  identifying learning needs and ways to increase access and upward mobility within the workplace, education providers highlighted the importance of relevancy: relevancy of the course material and instructional methods for both the learner and prospective employers.

Providing education and training in the communities, like Haines Junction, Destruction Bay, Burwash Landing and Beaver Creek is very different than in the big city of Whitehorse. Communities with populations of as little as 50 has vastly different education and employment needs than larger centres like Whitehorse. Even the larger communities like Haines Junction itself, with a population this year of 822, require a specialized learning and professional development offer: one that is responsive and agile, and can adapt quickly to the changing employment demands. Changes in the employment landscape are effected by seasonal fluctuations as well as the boom and bust cycles of the natural resources and energy sectors. A relatively small change in the wider economic outlook for the region has significant implications for smaller communities, particularly when the population of the town changes with these cycles.

With this in mind, education providers strive to work closely with employers and individual learners in an effort to maximise the relevancy of the curriculum offer, with both the short and longer term employment demands in mind.

But, while this model of adaptable education services is at the core of successful provision, the education establishment can find it difficult to ensure the course get to the candidate in a timely way. Simply put, as with other issues regarding disability employment supports, employers and job-seekers/employees are not always aware of the educational opportunities that are available – and to no fault of their own. The education providers recognize this barrier, and are engaged in a continuous process of awareness raising, marketing and community consultation in order to ensure employers remain informed about professional development opportunities to help raise existing and prospective staff performance and, by effective, productivity.

One education provider discussed a model of community and business consultation which has helped support the development of sector specific training courses for anticipating staffing needs. This model of education providers working closely with business on the wider project of sustainable community development appears to be the key for increasing accessibility and equity in the workplace.  By identifying ongoing labour market demands, employers and people with disabilities can respond to needs and deficits early, and on a continuous cycle of professional development which might help to reduce dips in productivity arising from goodness-of-fit of employee and workplace demands.

We like to believe that if there was such a thing as a panacea to resolve the disability employment problems in the workplace, then education would be the fix-all. And while this is perhaps an idealize view of the powers of education, what we can say for certain is learning always open more doors, more opportunities, for everyone. 

DAWSON CITY │ Disabilities on Ice

It is the apex of winter 2011-2012. We are in the Yukon Territory, the north-western most region of Canada to meet with business owners, agency representatives, government officials and people with disabilities to explore issues and ideas regarding disability and employment in this unique part of the world. We are about to drive across the recently opened ice-bridge across the wide, fast flowing Yukon River.

Three weeks ago temperatures dipped below 30C, but even this was not enough to stem the flow of the car-sized chunks of ice streaming past and onwards to the Bering  Sea, another 1000 miles in the journey of this timeless causeway.

Colm, our host and the local expert on learning disabilities, who singlehandedly provides disabilities education support services to an area of approximately 15,000 square miles, calmly suggests we unbuckle our seatbelts, but enjoy the ride as we venture out on this temporarily static ice flow.

This is the first time this season Colm, himself has made the trip across the ice to West Dawson, the other half of Dawson City that lies coldly disconnected from its better half twice a year: once as the residents wait for the ice flow to slow, slow, slow to become safe to cross in all manner of vehicles, as theory that water bears weight and ice is as strong as steel is put to the test once again, and a second time in the spring, as the last brave Dawsonite makes the final journey across the 200 meter bridge before ‘break-up’ and the eventual return of an equally precarious looking ferry. Colm wisely refrained from showing us the newspaper clipping of the front end of the truck firmly gripped in the racing sub-zero water with rest of the vehicle looking rather like a sad version of Titanic in her last moments.

My colleague Rick and I were temporarily warmed by the car heater, working hard against the -38 wind chill – a term that only really begins to make sense from about 20below in what otherwise would be a welcome breeze.

Half way across I found myself feeling a kind of bravery which is closer to bravado and trying to coax Rick to get out of the car with me when we reached the middle…and walk-wheel back. Rick was having none of it. But now, having made the fatal error (from the back seat, nonetheless) of taunting my colleague and companion into the wilds of this frozen flow, I had little choice but to follow-through as Colm pulled up and let me out. Out and alone on the ice in the middle of the Yukon River. Cold. Wind. Snow. Twilight daylight and the quiet as the car pulled away and disappeared behind the river frozen car-sized chunks of ice piled in one long crash.

The sensation of being on the ice, knowing the gazillion litres of water flowing just a few feet below the ice surface had been at pace for 2000 miles with a 1000 more to go before it would be slowed by the sea, made me shiver – or was it the cold. I spotted what appeared to be a path marked out with orange flagging tape, heading away from where I was dropped, but back in the direction to bank from which we’d come. This path seemed even more precarious than the car route that I can only imagine must have been created by some great machine that cleverly transforms icebergs into ice roads.  This narrower, less trampled route weaved around and over (thankfully not under) the ice flow for those who felt a car an unnecessary luxury to traverse the river in arctic temperatures to fetch milk, tea and bread.

At this point I was getting properly cold. I held my hands up over my ears, having foolishly left my hat behind, and turned my whole body – as you do when you are either stressed or half frozen – to see if Colm or Rick were anywhere in sight. They weren’t. So I decided to make a move, and head for the shore.

Now, given that I, myself, have been known to enjoy a laugh at the expense of some poor fool when I witness a bit of bravado-gone-wrong, I know what it looks like when someone is not having a great time when they are ‘having a go’ with a view to appearing adventuresome or undaunted. I can assure you that as I crossed the ice I was the source of much amusement to any onlooker from the offices and residences that overlooked the river that day. Indeed, by the time I reached the bank my face was bright red, my ears nearly white, my eyes squinted to slits and my body shook in my inadequately constructed London pea coat. Thankfully, as I waited, stock-still, showing the beginnings of desperation, Colm and Rick emerged from the river’s edge.

Colm, Rick and I headed back down main street to the hotel where we were to meet with our colleagues from the Yukon Council on Disability to begin our preparations for exploring disabilities and employment issues in this unique ex-goldrush wilderness frontier town.

Dawson City, as it would turn out, was a modern, forward-thinking city disguised as the Wild West circa 1898. Disabilities at high noon. Who would be left standing. 

The Yukon Employers Leadership Network's Priority Areas

The Yukon Employers Leadership Network (YELN) was established in October 2011, with the kick-off meeting coordinated by the the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce. The YELN is the critical friend to the Disability Works, ensuring our goals and services reflect the demands of employers and the needs of employees in workplaces across the Yukon.

Here are some of things the YELN identified as priority areas for employers.

KEY CONCEPTS

1. Defining disability and the types of disability employment issues employers might encounter is an essential first step for communicating with businesses regarding the benefits of the YDES.
2. Businesses require access to a pool of quality candidates during growth periods. Disability becomes a barrier to employment and business development/growth when it is perceived as an impediment to employer performance and business productivity.  
3. Businesses have an interest in identifying employee performance issues, putting in place accommodations before a disability becomes an impediment to productivity.
4. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have unique HR challenges, and are exposed to increased risk of cost overruns given employee performance and accommodations issues.
5. Employers are more likely to consider hiring a person with a disability if they have confidence in the effectiveness of the disability employment procedures. Placement procedures must be comprehensive, providing sustainable disability employment solutions.
6. Employers respond positively to streamlining management procedures.  A YDES should consider developing a one-stop disabilities employment service, reducing communications and HR redundancies. This is particularly relevant where a disability employment arrangement might involve coordinating the services of multiple agencies.

EARLY PRINCIPLES

The YELN discussed a number of issues and opportunities for the YDES, as follows.

1.  Defining disability and the types of disability employment issues employers might encounter is an essential first step for communicating with businesses regarding the benefits of the YDES.

  1.1  Employers will benefit from understanding the limits and possibilities for accommodating all types of disabilities in the workplace so that they are able to make informed strategic decisions when developing a human resources development plan.

    1.1.1  Improved disabilities employment information will help to alleviate existing bias and stereotyping, allaying employer concerns regarding HR risks.

2.  Businesses require access to a pool of quality candidates during growth periods. Disability becomes a barrier to employment and business development/growth when it is perceived as an impediment to employer performance and business productivity. 

    2.1  Employers require cost effective HR solutions. Employing people with disabilities will be seen as an effective HR strategy if accommodations and work-readiness issues are resolved at the time of the hire.

      2.1.1  A recruitment agency structure which offered employers ready-to-work candidates was proposed. This agency could provide multiple HR solutions for employers, including interim and permanent staffing solutions.

3.  Businesses have an interest in identifying employee performance issues, putting in place accommodations before a disability becomes an impediment to productivity.

    3.1  Employers want to reduce employee anxiety for declaring an existing or emergent disability. Employers want to avoid disciplinary proceedings related to employee performance issues stemming from non-disclosed disability issues.

      3.1.1  Employers have a vested interest in accommodating employees’ needs, addressing barriers to performance from an existing or acquired disability.

    3.2  Employers have an expressed interest in HR performance evaluation and improvement procedures (i.e., employee self performance and workplace effectiveness evaluation, workshops regarding disabilities employment and employer-employee cooperation).

4.  Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have unique HR challenges, and are exposed to increased risk of cost overruns given employee disabilities and related performance and accommodations issues.

    4.1  SMEs would benefit from solutions identified in 2.1 above.

5.  Employers are more likely to consider hiring a person with a disability if they have confidence in the effectiveness of the disability employment procedures. Placement procedures must be comprehensive, providing sustainable disability employment solutions.

    5.1  Employers’ are more likely to integrate innovations in HR procedures, such as a targeted disability employment strategy, given a model of success within the business community.  Creating a database of case studies and a network of employers for sharing effective management and HR models regarding disability employment will accelerate dissemination of best practice.

      5.1.1  Employers have a specific interest in case studies that demonstrate productivity outcomes, to include examples of placement and accommodations services by agencies: job coaching, staff training, wage subsidies, infrastructure grants/development/capital expenditures of funding agencies.

      5.1.2  Case studies that demonstrate benefits of universal design principles will generate interest amongst employers.( Examples cited included the extended benefits across a business given integration of American Sign Language (accommodating an employee’s hearing impairment).

6.  Employers respond positively to streamlining management procedures.  A YDES should consider developing a one-stop disabilities employment service, reducing communications and HR redundancies. This is particularly relevant where a disability employment arrangement might involve coordinating the services of multiple agencies.

    6.1  A YDES should streamline access to existing agencies and services for employers – coordinating resources, communications and on-going supports.

      6.1.1  Existing Yukon employment and disabilities agencies and services must be contributing partners to the YDES to ensure coordinated services for employers.

    6.2  A YDES will require an effective marketing and communications plan to ensure employers are aware of the HR opportunities and support services.

NEXT STEPS

The YELN will meet regularly (quarterly) to review YDES project progress, providing critical feedback and support, with a view to maximizing relevancy and measurable benefits for employers and employees.