CORNWALL, Ontario – Nearly three dozen people with special needs in Cornwall and area will be able to access free training to get them working.
A $366,000 federal government grant was unveiled by local MP Guy Lauzon, which will cover the cost of administering the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities program which begins taking applications Monday.
The Eastern Ontario Training Board is receiving the money to help 32 people with disabilities in Cornwall, the United Counties of SD&G, and Akwesasne to overcome barriers to employment.
Lauzon called the program a “win-win” for the local economy.
“I think people with disabilities are not appreciated like they should be,” said Lauzon. “Those who are employed are often under-employed.
“If we have motivated people who want to work, we should try. Having a job is more than just a pay-cheque.”
Through the “Jobs Now” project, the Eastern Ontario Training Board will assist project participants to develop the skills and experience they need to successfully enter the job market or return to school. They will learn or improve employment skills such as customer service and computer skills, and gain work experience with local employers in areas such as sales and service.
The program will provide a wage subsidy to employers who create or fill a position with a program participant, and plan to keep the participant employed after the program concluded. This will allow for training, transition, and long-term job opportunities for dozens of local residents with disabilities that may not find employment otherwise.
Diane Soucie, a project manager with the training board, said the local labour market needs more people.
She suggested, through figures collected by the training board that Ontario typically sees about 67 per cent of people aged 15 to 65 as members of the workforce – but in the Cornwall area the number drops to 60 per cent.
“That means four out of 10 are not connected to the labour force, and we need to reach out to those people, especially in a workforce that is growing,” she said, making reference to the expansion of a new Walmart distribution centre in Cornwall that will employ up to 1,000 people.
The program begins Monday and applications can be sought at Job Zone in Cornwall, as well as the Glengarry Inter-Agency Group in Alexandria.
