David C. Onley Initiative
Strategic Goals
We focus on achieving the following long-term results:
Help students achieve employment
and career success.
We are developing programs and sponsoring research that lead to greater employment success for students and graduates with disabilities while helping employers make inclusive changes that also benefit their businesses.
Be a trusted partner.
We are working and actively engaging with employers, agencies, secondary schools and post-secondary institutions to build knowledge, spread our message and close the employment gap between students with disabilities and their peers without disabilities.
Increase support for students.
We are providing steadily increasing assistance to students with disabilities as they move down pathways to employment and career success. We supply this support in collaboration with disability-service and career offices at Carleton University, University of Ottawa, La Cité and Algonquin College.
Raise public awareness.
We are engaging with employers directly and equipping them with the knowledge and tools to make real change in their recruitment and hiring practices. We are also making it possible for people to gain a greater understanding of the myths and other barriers that prevent students with disabilities from moving down pathways to meaningful employment.
Spread knowledge widely.
We are sharing our knowledge, resources, research findings, best practices and evidence-based tools with employers and post-secondary institutions throughout the province.
Remain relevant.
We are creating our programs, services, research activities, funding strategies and performance-measurement tools such that they can survive and thrive beyond the life of our initiative.