Wednesday, December 3rd is United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities, – focusing on Sustainable Development: the Promise of Technology. The HIRE employment program of Foothills SNAPS is the ‘GO TO’ resource, information and support source for employers and employees.
With our office in High River, and serving the whole Foothills region, HIRE provides programs and staff with the technical and people knowledge to provide a range of resources for both employers and employees. Working with employers who need to expand their workforce with talented new people and resourcing with people with disabilities who wish to enter the workforce-is what we do!
Technology has always impacted the way people live. The emergence of information and communications technologies have dramatically increased connectivity between people and their access to information, changing the way people live, work and play.
Today, there are over 1 billion people living in the world with some form of disability. In spite of being the world’s largest minority group, persons with disabilities and the issue of disability has remained largely invisible in the mainstream development frameworks and its processes.
The 2014 commemoration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities will work to harness the power of technology to promote inclusion to help realize the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society and shape the future of sustainable development for all!
Of the 3 sub-themes chosen by the United Nations, the HIRE program focuses on Creating Enabling Work Environments: The United Nations has written:
The right to work is a fundamental human right. However, persons with disabilities are often not considered due to negative perceptions regarding their ability to contribute or the high cost of accommodating their disability or inaccessible workplaces. Often, employers are unaware of the valuable contribution persons with disabilities can make in a diverse workplace, through the use of adaptive and assistive technologies, and other reasonable accommodation measures… When employers undertake measures to identify and eliminate barriers to the employment, advancement and retention of persons with disabilities, they promote a workplace culture based on fair practices that …allow persons with disabilities to be treated with dignity and respect and to enjoy equal terms and conditions of employment…(www.un.org)
We thank the Federal and community funders that make this program possible. Drop by the HIRE office December 3rd (1-4pm) and the friendly and informed staff will tell you more! We are opposite the Memorial Center at 335B Macleod Trail. For more information contact: 403-603-3232.
