Removing Barriers to Employment: Specialisterne and SenseAbility | Academic Newsletter | Seneca Polytechnic

by Jennifer Graham, Academic Learning Services

in the June 2018 issue

The Career Development and Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) teams have partnered with Specialisterne in order to provide options to students and recent graduates that identify with being on the autism spectrum or are living with other neurodiversities*. The goal of the partnership is to combine and leverage resources to reduce the barriers that the traditional recruitment and hiring process may create for some individuals.

Students and recent graduates that self-identify will be provided with the opportunity to participate in a workshop that helps to identify their strengths. Please watch the Specialisterne Canada: Employ Different Thinking video to see this in action. Engagement in pre-work preparation sessions followed by one-on-one on-site coaching will support a successful transition into the work place.

With support from Specialisterne, we are simultaneously engaging our key industry partners to assist them to access this talent pool. An employer education event is planned for June 5, 2018.

We are currently developing an additional partnership with SenseAbility with the goal of replicating this process for students and recent graduates that self identify with other diverse abilities.

These new programs will not only provide our current WIL students with quality WIL experiences, but also attract students who may not have previously applied to optional WIL streams.

If you have any questions or would like further information, please email Jennifer Graham (Jennifer.Graham@senecacollege.ca).

^{*For the purposes of this program, neurodiversity can be defined to include but not be limited to conditions such as Autism, ADHD/ADD, PDD-NOS, OCD, Anxiety diagnoses, and similar ways of being.}

View the June 2018 issue of the Academic Newsletter.