Ontario Helping Students with Disabilities Reach Employment Goals
Province Connecting Students with Professional Development
Ontario is supporting postsecondary students with disabilities through a new initiative led by Carleton University in Ottawa.
Yasir Naqvi, MPP for Ottawa Centre, was in Ottawa today to make the announcement.
The Honourable David C. Onley Initiative for Employment and Enterprise Development will advance employment opportunities for students with disabilities on campus and across the province.
The initiative will develop accessible, innovative resources for students with disabilities, including:
- Support and mentorship for entrepreneurial development
- Employment support, including connecting students to employers
- One-on-one coaching and mentoring for students.
Increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities is part of the government’s plan to support care, create opportunity and make life more affordable during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes free prescription drugs for everyone under 25, and 65 or over, through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, and free preschool child care from ages 2.5 to kindergarten.
Quick Facts
- Ontario intends to invest $5 million over two years for the David C. Onley Initiative for Employment and Enterprise Development at Carleton University.
- In 2016-17, approximately 74,000 learners with accessibility needs were registered with Disability Services Offices at Ontario colleges and universities full-time or part-time.
- Nearly 1.9 million people in Ontario have a disability.
