Ready Willing and Able (RWA) – Creating Employer Demand

Overview

Ready Willing and Able (RWA) is a national initiative of Inclusion Canada and the Autism Alliance of Canada and their member organizations. Funded by the Government of Canada, we strive to increase the labour force participation of persons with an intellectual disability or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 

This session will explore how RWA works with Canadian businesses to build inclusive workplaces that tap into the skills and potential of persons on the autism spectrum or with an intellectual disability. How the RWA provides employers with coordinated access to a talented and skilled labour pool that is ‘ready, willing, and able’ to enter the competitive labour market will be discussed.

The session will provide an overview of the major elements of the RWA model, its vision,  design, and delivery and partnership structure. The session will provide information related to RWA’s employer outreach and engagement efforts, and the employment outcomes achieved to date.  Project innovation, successes and challenges will be highlighted.

RWA’s efforts in the areas of career advancement and engagement of BIPOC communities (as related to youth employment) will also be highlghted.

Speaker 

Don Gallant is Principal Consultant with Don Gallant and Associates - a social policy and planning agency providing support and consultation to both public and private sectors to advance and promote social well-being and inclusion, especially for persons with disabilities. 

Prior to entry into the private sector in 1998, Mr. Gallant held senior management positions with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, including Director, Division of Family and Rehabilitative Services. Under his leadership, a comprehensive array of community based programs and individualized supports for persons with disabilities and their families were developed, and he was instrumental in the introduction of the Supported Employment model within the province. 

Mr. Gallant has worked extensively with agencies in both the private and public sector at the provincial, national and international levels. 

At present, Mr. Gallant serves as National Director of the Ready Willing and Able (RWA) initiative - a national employment initiative of Inclusion Canada and the Autism Alliance of Canada (AAC). The RWA initiative, since its start in 2014, has assisted more than 5200 job seekers with an intellectual disability or autism secure and maintain employment in the competitive labor market 

Host

Dan Samosh is an Assistant Professor in Employment Relation at Queen’s University and Academic Co-Lead of the IDEA Incubator Hub on Transitions to Work and Career Development.

About the IDEA Speaker Series

The IDEA Speaker Series provides an opportunity to hear guest speakers talk about their efforts to create stronger and more diverse labour markets that include persons with disabilities.