With a widely acknowledged labour shortage coming down the pipe, business owners are being encouraged to think outside the traditional box to recruit workers.

“As the baby boomers begin to retire, employers are going to have to be a little more creative to fill vacancies,” warns human resources specialist Theresa Dowsett, managing principal of Workforce Acceleration. “This means they may need to look for employees from a different job pool than they’re used to using.

“This means not only changing the way they see job applicants as a set of skills and abilities, but equally for their aptitude and attitude.”

About three-and-a-half months ago, Al Menard, a unit manager of Purolator Courier in Barrie, pulled Rick Smith’s resume from hundreds of job applications on his desk. Liking what he saw, he called Smith in for an interview, not suspecting he’d be communicating through an American Sign Language interpreter.

“It’s something you’re not expecting when someone comes in for an interview,” he says of the sudden introduction to the deaf community. “We weren’t really sure what the challenges would be or how it would work out, but we wanted Rick to have a fair opportunity.”

It didn’t hurt that Rick interviewed very well.

“We look for attitude – that’s a big thing,” says Menard.

“You can’t train attitude.”

Smith is now a night-shift pre-loader at Barrie’s south-end warehouse. The busy workplace doesn’t leave much time for chit-chat, according to Menard, so Smith isn’t excluded from employee interaction.

Otherwise, except for the interpreted sessions when he was being hired, Smith communicates via Blackberry, notes or reading lips.

“Ninety per cent of the time, it’s me looking at him face to face and he’s reading lips and hand gestures,” Menard explains. “It’s easy to get hold of Rick with the phones.”

But mostly, it’s work as usual.

“We’re in a very fast-paced environment – it’s pretty much non-stop from the time you start the shift to the end – you don’t really have time for one-on-one,” he explains. “(New employees) prove themselves by catching on quickly and doing a good job.”

In Purolator’s union environment, the three-month probation period is taken very seriously. But Menard says he knew within a week Smith would be welcome for the long term.

“He has probably the best attitude of anyone we have here,” Menard adds. “He’s always upbeat and has perfect attendance.”

Yolanda Soos Anglin, the employment specialist at Deaf Access Simcoe, arranged the English-sign language interpreter for Smith and Menard. Menard retains her email address on file in case upcoming training sessions require the services of another interpreter.

“A big part of my job is educating employers who have never had the opportunity of working with a deaf or hard of hearing person,” she says.

Deaf Access Simcoe (DAS), a charitable organization partially funded by the Ministry of Health and regional United Way agencies, is mandated to ensure “culturally deaf, oral deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing people in Simcoe County have equity and communication access in our community.”

Soos Anglin’s case load at any given time ranges from about 30 to 40 people.

DAS is an approved service provider through the employment support program of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), an initiative of the Ministry of Community and Social Services.

With offices now in Barrie, Orillia and Collingwood, DAS assists members of the deaf community looking for assistance in the job search or, like Smith, after a job has already been sourced.

“Services provided are very different for each person,” says Soos Anglin. “It’s a different process depending upon how communication happens.”

A person who is hard of hearing, for example, might not know sign language and could benefit from a notetaker during meetings. And, contrary to popular belief, lip reading isn’t as common in the deaf community as television shows suggest, so other tools or skills are employed.

“The employer is obligated to provide equal accessibility for all employees,” says Soos Anglin. “It’s the same as ramps or automatic door openers (for those with mobility challenges).”

Some funding for these adjustments is available, she adds.

“We never want the accommodation piece to be a barrier to employment,” she stresses. In the case of a culturally deaf individual, “the interpreter is the accommodation.”

Working with recent college graduates, as well as experienced workers making a transition, Soos Anglin’s roster includes graphic designers, machine operators and health-care workers (among others).

“I’ve also had two IT (information technology) people come through here,” she says.

“I think some employers have a certain picture in mind regarding what a ‘disabled’ person looks like,” says Dowsett, who has worked extensively with employees with special needs.

“There’s a misperception that they won’t be able to do a full job. Normally, most people with disabilities can contribute a great deal to the workplace with very minor accommodations. And these accommodations don’t have to cost a lot.”

It can be as simple as flexing a schedule, shifting a couple of duties between two or three jobs, or supplying special equipment to help them be really effective, she explains.

At the Career Connection, located at 80 Bradford Street in Barrie, director Julie Wilson has been helping ODSP job seekers get back to work for five years.

“The program has two divisions,” says Wilson. “Income support provides a monthly benefit for qualified individuals, and employment support – which is what I do.

“The nice part of the employment support program is you don’t have to be on income support to qualify, which is good. It opens the door to more candidates.”

Recipients of income support automatically qualify, she adds.

She works with people with physical and learning disabilities, mental health issues, and medical problems. She cites crone’s disease and fibremyalgia, for example.

“When many people think about disabilities, they think of people who are really noticeable in the community,” she says. “Some are, but others are very highly skilled.

“We really get a variety of skills, from entry level to someone with a PhD.”

Services can include resume and interview skills development, job search and sometimes additional training.

“We’ll make cold calls on their behalf,” she says. “We will carve positions in companies they didn’t know they needed.”

She’ll also go on site with a client to make sure they can do the work. The support can continue for up to 33 months, to aid in job retention.
“It’s good for the client and the employer, because most don’t have the time to train these days,” she says. “We help maintain employment support for both the client and the employers.”

Statistics show a bottom-line benefit to examining this relatively hidden labour market.

“Research shows the job-retention rate of disabled employees is 72 per cent higher than others,” says psychotherapist Anita Bol, who recently launched a Work Life Compass Program, helping employees re-enter the workplace after an extended absence. “They aspire to work, have often committed themselves to retraining and skills development, and have generally proven to be more reliable and productive than their non-disabled counterparts in the workplace.

“When an employer provides a disabled worker the opportunity to have decent work, everyone benefits; the workplace, the worker, the worker’s family and the community. It’s a win-win solution.”

Funding to offset initial start-up wages is sometimes available to employers as well, through the ODSP program.

At Purolator, Menard expects to see Smith, who has completed his probation period, climb the corporate ladder.

“He’s a very smart guy,” Menard says. “He can move up as far as wants to with us. He’s really worked out and it’s great for the company.

“He definitely deserved the chance he got here with us.”

Smith’s success is good news for recruiters across the province who are seeking pro-active solutions to the imminent labour crunch.

“Employers who may have considered candidates before because of a disability, language challenge or other barrier, are going to have to tap into this hidden job market to find talent that can be nurtured and supported to help their companies grow,” says Dowsett.

“People like doing business with companies that care,” she adds.

“Today’s business owners can’t ignore the power of accepting people for who they are and seeing their abilities rather than their challenges.”