The Solutions to Improve the Employment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
Solutions Exist
While it is true that employability programs for people with intellectual disabilities present many problems, there are also concrete solutions.
In 2024, SQDI and other organisations published a policy brief on the employability of people with disabilities. This brief proposes general principles and concrete actions that the government could implement immediately to improve the situation and promote real inclusion in employment.
Recognising the right to work of persons with disabilities
Despite some progress in the perception of persons with disabilities or mental health “disorders” in the public sphere, many barriers remain. These barriers take the form of misconceptions, prejudices, and a lack of recognition of the duty to accommodate on the part of many employers.
It is therefore essential that the Government of Quebec clearly reaffirm the right to work of persons with disabilities or mental health “disorders.”
➡️Core Principles
- Quebec must recognize that persons with disabilities “have the right to work, on an equal basis with others, including the opportunity to earn a living by performing work freely chosen or accepted in an open, inclusive and accessible labour market and workplace” (United Nations, 2006, Art. 27).
- Quebec must promote the inclusive hiring of persons with disabilities or mental health “disorders” by adopting an “employment first” strategy.
- The Quebec government and society as a whole must recognize that ableism and mental health stigma remain major obstacles to the full potential of people with disabilities or mental health “disorders,” particularly in their professional roles. It must commit to combating these forms of discrimination and devaluation.
Recognising the skills of people
Ableism and sanism do not just devalue the lives of people with disabilities or mental health “disorders.” They also fuel misconceptions about their ability to work and maintain productivity comparable to that of other employees.
It is therefore essential that all stakeholders in the employment sector recognise the strengths and skills of these individuals.
➡️ Core Principles
- People with disabilities or mental health “disorders” have skills, want to work and want to contribute, in their own way, to the development of society. They want to see their dignity recognized, respected and valued.
- The skills of these individuals must be identified, cultivated, promoted and developed throughout their career, including once they enter the labour market.
Creating individual pathways to employment
People with disabilities or mental health “disorders” are not a homogeneous group. On the contrary, they are one of the most diverse populations, with a wide variety of needs. This requires services to be tailored to each individual.
There is no single pathway to employment, but as many pathways as there are individuals. This is why pre-employment and employability services must be better tailored to people’s real expectations and needs, focusing on personalized measures that reduce barriers in the environment.
Only a truly individualized approach, based on support, can respond to this diversity of expectations and needs.
➡️ Core Principles
- Each person has a unique socio-professional trajectory; services and interventions must be adapted to the context.
- Each person should be supported in their journey to employment, at their own pace, according to their abilities, preferences and choices, particularly when integrating into employment.
- Occupational programs (or “skills maintenance” programs) should be clearly separated from pre-employability, employability and job retention programs.
Breaking down silos, aiming for complementarity
It is necessary to review the organization of services in order to break down silos and promote genuine complementarity in government actions. The inclusion of people with disabilities or mental health “disorders” in the workplace must be supported in a consistent manner, from their educational path to their integration and retention in employment, as well as their career development.
➡️ Core Principles
- Quebec government departments and agencies (Education, Health and Social Services, Employment and Social Solidarity, Transport, OPHQ) must work together to break down silos and facilitate the transition between the various programs for people with disabilities or mental health “disorders”.
- Quebec government programs and services must be designed to complement each other and form coherent pathways to employment.
Focus on awareness and support
In addition to the general principles presented, there are many examples in Quebec, elsewhere in Canada and abroad that could be used as inspiration to improve practices.
First, it is important to focus on raising awareness among workplaces and employers, but also on supporting them and supporting people with intellectual disabilities once they are employed.
Employer awareness is crucial to increasing the employment rate of people with intellectual disabilities. Raising awareness among employers makes it possible to better adapt job descriptions, help them understand their obligations in terms of workplace accommodations, support them in revising their hiring processes to make them more inclusive, and many other aspects.
Support in the workplace, both for the employee and for the workplace and employer, facilitates the integration and retention of people with intellectual disabilities or autistic individuals. Whether by breaking down prejudices, supporting the person in their workplace, or intervening on an ad hoc basis to help them overcome difficulties, job coaching in the workplace can help the person stay employed, while having a positive impact on the entire workplace.
In Quebec and Canada, this model has proven its worth. For example, the Ready, Willing and Able (RWA) program, funded by the Government of Canada, has shown that awareness-raising and long-term support can reduce the need for wage subsidies and help people with intellectual disabilities or autism stay in employment, while raising awareness among thousands of employers across the country and creating thousands of jobs.
Unfortunately, Quebec does not fund this type of programme at the provincial level. The government still favours wage subsidies for employers, even though the RWA support model is less costly in the long term and more effective (job retention rates, jobs created, lasting impact).
A recent pilot project conducted by SQDI demonstrated the economic viability of the job coaching model, noting that support needs decrease rapidly over time after the first quarter of employment.
For SQDI, the Quebec government should focus on this type of approach to promote the employability of people with intellectual disabilities.
Focusing on successful models in Canada
Several Canadian provinces offer inspiring models for supporting the employment trajectories of people with intellectual disabilities.
“Employment first”
In New Brunswick, employment is the first option when it comes to planning the transition from school to active life. From the beginning of secondary school, people with intellectual disabilities are encouraged to think about their career plans and to do work placements in order to develop professional skills and familiarize themselves with the workplace. These actions also help to raise awareness among employers about the realities and capabilities of people with intellectual disabilities.
Thanks to the “Employment First” strategy, the province has almost completely eliminated the use of sheltered workshop programs. Instead, community organisations receive funding to support their employment and training programmes.
This transition from school to active life increases the chances of people with disabilities entering the labour market, while raising awareness among society and employers of the importance of inclusion. It also reduces the use of programs that, in some cases, can lead to situations of exploitation.
The Quebec government should draw inspiration from this strategy in its public policies and make it a priority in planning the transition from school to active life, in order to improve the employment trajectories of people with intellectual disabilities.
Better supervision of sheltered work programs
In Canada, some provinces have implemented strict oversight of unpaid sheltered work programs. For example, in British Columbia, sheltered work programs must have clear training objectives and participation is limited in time. This supervision prevents people with intellectual disabilities from remaining indefinitely in sheltered work programs, where they would produce added value without being paid or offered alternatives.
In the mid-2010s, Ontario also decided to end these programs for the same reasons. Following the provincial Conservative government’s rise to power, this measure was suspended, but better oversight of the programs is still planned.
SQDI is calling for:
- Limit the duration of participation in sheltered work programs.
- Define clear training objectives for these programs.
- Proposing alternatives for people deemed not “productive” enough to enter the labour market.
- Ensure a transition in funding for organisations that currently offer sheltered work programs, so that they can diversify their activities without losing funding.
Allow social assistance recipients to work.
As noted in the section on social assistance, the current rules for last-resort financial assistance programs often discourage recipients from working. Yet many want to work to improve their situation and escape poverty.
The example of the Basic Income Program (BIP) shows that relaxing the rules on earned income could have positive effects.
Basic Income Program recipients can earn income equivalent to their annual basic benefit (approximately $16,000). Studies, interviews and testimonials gathered in the field show that the opportunity to earn additional income is beneficial: it allows people to live more dignified lives and, in some cases, to escape poverty.
For SQDI, the relaxation of the rules of the Basic Income Programme and its impacts prove that it is possible to do things differently and promote employment, even part-time, for social assistance program recipients. The main obstacle remains a lack of political will.