Sivuariit Employability Program:

A Community-Based Curriculum for Nunavummiut with Disabilities

Completed by the Nunavummi Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society

March 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction……………………………………………..…... 31.1 Background………………………………………………….…………….. 41.2 Goals and Objectives…………………………………………………… 61.3 Program Design and Methodology………………………….……. 61.4 Evaluation……………………………………………………………………..

2.0 Program Activities2.1 Pre-program Survey2.2 Training Modules2.3 Inclusion Café Placement2.4 Post-program Survey2.5 Employment Placement Support

3.0 Sustaining Employment3.1 Follow-up with Participants3.2 Next Steps3.3. Toolkit Development

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

The Sivuariit Employability Program is designed to enhance basic employment skills among Nunavummiut with developmental, psychiatric and cognitive disability, within the framework of accessible learning and community inclusion.

Employability skills fall under three categories relating to finding and sustaining employment. First and foremost are basic communication and learning skills. Second are interpersonal skills that relate to attitudes and relationships, and third are teamwork skills that involve working with others toward a desired result.1

People with developmental, psychiatric and cognitive disability may find basic communication to be a challenge, both in receiving information and expressing how they think and feel. In the workplace, this can be compounded by uncertainty regarding employers’ expectations, and their rights and responsibilities as an employee.

For those who have developed communication skills at home and in the community, the work setting offers a whole new set of communication and interpersonal challenges. As such, an understanding of how appropriate behaviours differ within various environments may be helpful in entering and navigating the workforce.

Participants in the program will also receive training covering their rights within the workplace, such as how to self-advocate or work with a job coach for workplace accommodations. Training will also be provided on the responsibilities of employees within in the workplace, building time management skills and professionalism so that participants can meet employer expectations and make a successful transition into gainful employment.

This document outlines a curriculum for basic communication and interpersonal skills development that is personalized according to the abilities and interests of participants, and the community resources available help enhance their employability through practical experience and interaction.

The training will focus on basic communication and learning skills that are fundamental to employability, combined with on-the-job experience that will put those skills into practice as well as foster interpersonal and teamwork skill

1 Coalition for Persons with Disabilities Final Report

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development. Following theoretical and practical training, participants will be offered support in finding employment that fits their skills and employment goals.

1.1 Background

This curriculum and employability program has been developed as part of the Nunavut Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society’s 2-year Employment Engagement Strategy funded by the Government of Nunavut and the Government of Canada through the Targeted Training Initiatives Program.

The objectives of the project as a whole are as follows:

Education and Training: To enhance the employability of Nunavummiut with disabilities through the development of essential skills required in the workplace and to provide opportunities for classroom learning as well as hands-on learning.

Employment Opportunities: To partner with employers and employment agencies in making the labour market more accessible for people with disabilities and to match potential employees with employers based on the employers' needs and the skill sets of job seekers with disabilities. To provide supports for employers and employees to sustain employment over time.

Connecting Employers and Persons with Disabilities: To educate employers and support them in building an inclusive workforce and to raise awareness among people with disabilities about labour market opportunities so as to increase labour market participation of Nunavummiut with disabilities.

Building Knowledge: To share all research and best practices with communities across Nunavut regarding employer engagement, available resources, social enterprise development, pre-employment training and job coach training. To increase awareness on inclusiveness in the labour market of people living with disabilities in the territory.

As part of this initial phase of the project, NDMS conducted an employer survey to assess awareness and attitudes toward the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labour market. The vast majority of respondents believed that education and skills training for those with disabilities will increase their opportunities for employment.2

2 Employer Survey, NDMS

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An overview of skill training and curriculum best practices contained within “Nunavut Environmental Scan: Socio-Economic Inclusion of Disabled Peoples in Nunavut’s Workforce,” produced for NDMS as part of this phase of the project, emphasizes both the need for participants to first undergo a literacy assessment as well as a form of self-assessment that helps them identify their interests, abilities and career goals. It also recommends that participants map out a number of other factors that will help them determine their employment path, including their motivations for working, physical and cognitive limits, best times for working in consideration of their needs, any need for assistive technologies required to help in their job performance and learning, and so on.3

In terms of adapted pre-employment training, the report goes on to suggest that for adults, “literacy training be integrated within the workplace training and linked to the job and essential skills required for the performance at work.”4 Therefore, on-the-job training that includes literacy development is key to supporting adults with disabilities in that it “allows the individual to see the practical application of reading, writing, numeracy and computer use, and practice, apply and recognize the applications.”5

When it comes to curriculum development, the report recommends that where literacy is low, as is prevalent among people with cognitive disability, “materials developed should be high in visuals and experimental learning to demonstrate skills and model expected behaviours.”6

The environmental scan also notes the importance of programs that are flexible, experimental and personalized in their approach, and which aim to overcome prejudice and discrimination toward Nunavummiut with disabilities:

“It is important to strengthen the conversation and reach of the threads of inclusion and skills development not in a manner that speaks to remedying an individual “deficiency,” but rather leveraging the inherent skills, gifts and talents of all individuals for their personal value, contribution to their family and broader community as a contributing citizen.”7

In addition, as the vast majority of our clients are Inuit, the environmental scan highlights the importance of delivering the curriculum within an Inuit cultural framework, by connecting to indigenous practices and conceptions, as well as incorporating Inuit trainers and Inuktitut language into the curriculum. By doing so, the curriculum will be more appealing and understandable for Inuit participants,

3 Nunavut Environmental Scan4 Nunavut Environmental Scan, pg 395 Nunavut Environmental Scan, pg 396 Nunavut Environmental Scan, pg 407 Nunavut Environmental Scan, pg 40

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and will also work to promote the status of people with disabilities within Inuit communities:

“A key lesson learned from early Inuit employment programs is the successful learning approach of Inuit-led instruction and the engagement of traditional Inuit values and approaches. […] Curriculum and program delivery also needs to champion and impart new language that both supports Inuit societal values and challenges any stigma, stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination toward Nunavummiut with disabilities.”8

With these recommendations in view, the following program and curriculum is designed to gather as much information as possible about participants in an effort to provide pre-employment training that is tailored to each individual, visually demonstrative and experimental in its approach, has a cultural and community basis, and engages both participants and community members in the language of inclusion.

1.2 Goals and Objectives

The overarching goal of the Sivuariit Employability Program is to enhance the employability skills of Nunavummiut with cognitive disabilities, leading to greater labour market inclusion. Our main objective is to offer blended learning opportunities, including classroom and on-the-job training, over the course of one year to 10 participants from Iqaluit with program certification offered through both NDMS and the Ilinniapaa Campus, which will be a service provider partner for the Sivuariit program. Much like NDMS, Ilinniapa provides employment training and support to marginalized populations in Iqaluit, specifically youth and adults with physical and mental disabilities. However, at this time they are not able to provide services for people with intellectual disabilities. NDMS aims to fill this gap in part through the Sivuariit program.

Our secondary objective, which our organization hopes to accomplish through the second phase of the Target Training Initiatives program, is to create a multi-media toolkit that incorporates the central elements of the Sivuariit curriculum to be shared with communities across Nunavut in partnership with academic and community-based organizations. The contents of the toolkit would be determined in light of best practices obtained in providing the training to Iqalummiut.

1.3 Program Design and Methodology

8 Nunavut Environmental Scan, 39-40.

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The Sivuariit Employability Program will consist of four distinct phases: a pre-program assessment, an eight-month training course, a three-month job placement and job shadowing component carried out in conjunction with the Inclusion Café and local employers, and a post-program assessment including resume building and job interview preparation. The guiding principle for the design of the Sivuariit curriculum will be inclusion, in terms of both the program participants and the wider community. The curriculum modules will be created to accommodate the different levels of ability of the participants, so that regardless of development level, all will be able to participate. Participation from the local community will also be included whenever possible, through all four phases of the program, in order to foster the spirit of inclusivity.

From start to finish, inclusion will be front and centre in the Sivuariit program. The pre- and post-program assessments will be conducted using the Assessment of Phonological Awareness and Reading (APAR) test developed by Teresa Iacono and Linda Cupples, and the Paths and Maps approach developed by Marsha Forest, John O’Brien, and Jack Pearpoint. APAR, which will help determine the literacy skills amongst our clients at the beginning and end of the program, is a copyfree assessment tool. Distributed to service providers without cost, APAR is an inclusive assessment tool available to organizations regardless of size or funding level. While APAR focuses on literacy, the assessment can be easily adjusted to also gauge the level of numeracy of program participants.

The other main form of assessment to be used in the Sivuariit program is the Paths and Maps approach. Instead of a clinical assessment, which tends to provide participants with impersonal labels, Paths and Maps focuses on the positive characteristics and abilities of those being assessed, and provides them with a clear and realistic action plan of how to achieve their goals.

The Paths and Maps assessment is presented in a visual and graphic manner led by two facilitators, making it appropriate for participants with low levels of literacy. Participants are asked to bring in important people in their lives who know them well—family, friends, teachers, support workers—who take part in the assessment process. Program participants will take part in a Paths and Maps session during both the pre- and post-program assessment sessions. This inclusive approach helps to involve the social network of the participants in their training, making a successful outcome at the end of the program more likely and sustainable.

By being person-centered, Paths and Maps helps to focus the assessment on what is truly best for the program participants, highlighting their interests, abilities and goals, as opposed to a system-centered approach which tends to promote

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stereotypes of people with disabilities and overemphasize clinical strategies. As researchers at the University of Minnesota have noted, “Person-centered change challenges us to discover and invent a personal dream for people, to craft a pattern of living that increases people’s participation and belonging in community life.”9

Community involvement and inclusive practices will continue as program participants progress into the employment training curriculum. The training modules will be developed in part based on the Skills Training Partnership (STP) model established by the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW). A central component of the STP model is finding local employers to partner with. Employment training will then be tailored towards skills needed by the partner organization, which in turn pledges to give a conditional offer of employment to program participants upon completion of the course. During a pilot program of the STP model carried out across Canada by CCRW between 1995-2001, a success rate of 83% employment retention was achieved by program participants.10 Possible local partners in Iqaluit include Arctic Ventures and Royal Bank, both of which already have inclusive hiring policies in place.11

Another main model for the curriculum will be the Life Skills training approach championed by the YWCA of Toronto. This approach aims to impart and develop key skills needed for a successful transition into employment. Under the Life Skills model, “lessons and programs are designed with the particular needs of the client group in mind. [...] The intent is for participants to develop the ability to draw from a repertoire of problem-solving behaviours to meet the problems of everyday life.”12 While the STP model will allow for the curriculum to respond to the needs of employers, the Life Skills approach will help the curriculum respond to the needs of employees with disabilities.

According to the Life Skills model, lessons are broken down into a variety of components. The goals and rationale for the given unit are clearly stated at the outset of each lesson. Next, a warm-up activity is planned to help energize the participants, set the mood for the day, and foster group-building. Then, the main topic of the lesson is introduced to participants during the first exercise, which will generally call on participants to share personal experiences related to the topic and reflect on their reactions. After the first exercise, the facilitators will lead a more in-depth discussion of the lesson topic, providing the big picture and building upon the

9 Amado, A. N. and Mc Bride, M. (2001), Increasing Person-Centered Thinking: Improving the Quality of Person-Centered Planning: A Manual for Person-Centered Planning Facilitators. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration, 4.10 Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work, Skills Training Partnership Employment Manual: Building Employment Partnerships, 1.11 Nunavut Environment Scan, 29.12 Dololres Montavez-Ruz et al., eds., Employability for People with Disabilities: Discovering Life Skills, vol. 9 (YWCA Toronto, 2006), v.

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material of the first exercise. This discussion will be followed by two more exercises to help participants practice skills related to the topic, and see how these skills can be applied in real-world settings. This lesson model allows for key information to be presented in different ways, with repetition helping to reinforce the learning goals. All lessons will put a focus on interactive learning, and the use of visual learning materials with minimal text. Additionally, translators will be in attendance throughout the training course to provide instruction in Inuktitut to participants more comfortable in that language.

A key asset of the Life Skills lesson model is that it allows for co-operative learning, a teaching methodology focused on group work which helps develop the teamwork skills and self-esteem of students. During exercises, program participants will be organized into small groups with mixed levels of abilities in order to complete tasks, such as role-playing interactions and practicing relevant skills. Co-operative learning makes students active participants in their own education as opposed to passive receptacles of information. As such, participants are more likely to take ownership of the material covered and better integrate it into their lives. Co-operative learning has also been shown to better prepare students for the workforce than more traditional teaching methodologies:

“The skills students develop while collaborating with others are different from the skills students develop while working independently. As more businesses organize employees into teams and task forces, the skills necessary to be a ‘team player’ (e.g., verbalizing and justifying ideas, handling conflicts, collaborating, building consensus, and disagreeing politely) are becoming more valuable and useful. Using co-operative groups to accomplish academic tasks not only provides opportunities for students to develop interpersonal skills but also gives them authentic experiences that will help them be successful in their future careers.”13

Another teaching methodology that will be incorporated into the lesson plan is spiral learning, where key concepts will be revisited throughout the course. As basic literacy and numeracy have been identified as key skills for employability,14 each course module will have components that help with building these skills. Brief review sessions will also be built into the start and end of each module, to both reinforce material from previous sessions and reiterate the core concepts covered in a given day. Where there is thematic overlap between modules, connections will be drawn between material already covered and the material currently at hand. By repeating key information, program participants are much more likely to integrate it into their daily lives

13 Teacher Vision, Co-operative Learning, https://www.teachervision.com/pro-dev/cooperative-learning/48531.html, last accessed April 14th, 2016.14 Nunavut Environment Scan, 39.

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In order to make the course material as engaging as possible, experimental and active learning will be utilized whenever feasible. One way this will be accomplished is to deliver training outside of a classroom setting and in the community whenever practical. For instance, during the module on stress management, program participants could be taken to a local yoga studio to practice mindful meditation and breathing exercises. As another possibility, the module on listening and asking questions could be carried out in part on a tour of the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum in Iqaluit. Getting program participants out of the classroom and into the community as much as possible is another key way that the Sivuariit program aims to promote the ideal of inclusivity.

Community inclusion will continue as program participants move into the job shadowing and job placement phase. Participants will take part in both short-term one-week job shadowing opportunities with local employers as well as a long-term three-month placement at the Inclusion Café run be NDMS. By doing so, the learning process will be enhanced through real-world experience and social interaction with the broader community.

1.4 Evaluation

The success of the Sivuariit Employability Program will be measured in a number of ways to see how well it reaches the four goals of NDMS’s Employment Engagement Strategy: education and training, employment opportunities, connecting with employers, and building knowledge. By analyzing these various forms of evaluation at the end of the program, NDMS will be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of program’s components, determine best practices, and see what needs to be changed or adjusted moving forward.

On a basic level, the success of the program will be seen in how many participants complete it in its entirety. During the pilot project for a similar employability skills program for adults with intellectual and physical disabilities carried out in southern Ontario between 2005 and 2008 by the Coalition for Persons with Disabilities (CPD), three groups ranging from eight to nine participants completed a work readiness curriculum. On average, 75% of participants from each group completed the entire program.15 The Sivuariit program will aim for an equal or higher completion rate.

The efficacy of the curriculum in educating and training program participants for work will be gauged in part through the various pre- and post-program assessments. Literacy and numeracy assessments will be completed by participants at the beginning and end of the training period, which will give an indication of

15 Coalition for Persons with Disabilities, Making Learning Accessible to Achieve Employability: Evaluation and Lessons Learned (2008), 10-11.

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whether skill levels have remained the same or increased. The Paths and Maps assessment carried out at the beginning of the program will also be revisited by participants during the post-program assessment in order to see how participants have achieved their goals, as well as how those goals have changed. Program participants will again be asked to bring in the same team of people that helped complete their Paths and Maps assessment at the beginning. This will allow us to solicit feedback on the efficacy of the program from both clients and their support networks.

While the assessments will provide snapshots of progress at the beginning and end of the program, the facilitators will also collect evaluations throughout the program. According to the Life Skills lesson model used in the Sivuariit curriculum, each lesson will end with an evaluation by participants. Clients will provide feedback on the topics covered in a given day and rate their understanding of key concepts and ideas. This will allow facilitators to adjust the curriculum as the program progresses to reinforce difficult or complicated lessons and respond to the needs of the participants.

To evaluate the success of the Sivuariit program in creating employment opportunities and connecting with employers, a number of factors will be analyzed. The number of participants who successfully gain employment at the end of the program will be a key indicator of its success. During the pilot program carried out by CPD, six out of twenty-five participants had part time or full time employment at the end of the program.16 However, CPD did not use the Service Training Partnership (STP) model in its training curriculum. As noted above, a key aspect of the STP model is finding local businesses and organizations that will agree to give a conditional offer of employment to successful program participants. By using the STP model, the Sivuariit program will aim to achieve a high rate of employment for participants who complete training.

Another key factor in the success of the program in creating employment opportunities and connecting with employers is how many business and organizations NDMS is able to sign up for service training partnerships. Ideally, NDMS would like to partner with 2-3 employers from the private sector and 3-4 employers from the public sector. Partnering with government employers is a priority as the public sector plays the largest role in Nunavut’s economy.17

In addition to the STPs, the Sivuariit program will also connect with local employers in a more informal manner by incorporating local community businesses and organizations in the training curriculum whenever possible, such as by taking a field trip to the soup kitchen for tutorials on safe food handling, or, as previously mentioned, going to a yoga studio for a workshop on stress management. Informal

16 Coalition for Persons with Disabilities, Making Learning Accessible to Achieve Employability: Evaluation and Lessons Learned (2008), 40-41.17 Nunavut Environment Scan, 5.

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partnerships will also be sought with local businesses and organizations for the job shadowing portion of the program to provide weeklong, no-strings-attached internships for program participants. By forging and developing these informal connections with employers during the program, NDMS will aim to foster more formal and permanent relationships with them over time, with the aim of creating more work opportunities for our clients in the future. The number of these connections that NDMS is able to make through the Sivuariit program will be another way to evaluate the success of the program.

In order to build knowledge and spread this project outside of Iqaluit, NDMS will be developing a toolkit comprised of training manuals, lesson plans, course materials, and resources to be distributed to interested service providers in communities around Nunavut. This toolkit would also be available to organizations serving adults with intellectual disabilities outside of Nunavut. The number of these toolkits distributed, as well as the feedback and responses of the organizations who receive them, will provide NDMS with even more material for evaluation.

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2.0 Program Activities

The activities of Sivuariit Employability Program will be structured in a way that promotes a person-centered approach. As noted by the British Department of Education and Skills, “person-centred planning means a shift in the balance of power between individuals and the services they receive by enabling individuals to have a greater say in the planning and design of services.”18 Such an approach helps to empower program participants by giving them a voice and allowing them to take ownership of their education. In doing so, the program activities will be able to better serve the needs of the participants.

As participants complete the pre-program assessments, the curriculum will be adjusted to respond to the desires and aspirations of the participants, with lessons being tailored to develop the specific skills needed by our clients to gain employment. Moreover, as local businesses and organizations are recruited for service training partnerships, the curriculum will also be adjusted to train participants in the specific skills necessary for the jobs offered by our partners.

2.1 Pre-program Assessment

In order to determine the needs and desires of our clients, program participants will take part in several pre-program assessments to ascertain their interests, goals, and skill levels. These pre-program assessments will both serve as the learning plans for program participants, as well as provide the baseline against which the program participants’ achievements can be measured. As much as possible, these assessments will be carried out in an inclusive manner, in collaboration with the person being assessed, as recommended by the British Department of Education and Skills, which notes that the assessment process should be person-centered, “based on a dialogue between staff and learners, and also between learners and other learners. It should be ‘something we do together,’ not ‘something I do to you.’”19 A person-centered approach to assessment is also endorsed by the Inclusion Network in Toronto, and the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability in the United States.20 As a result of placing learners at the centre of the assessment process, their awareness of the progress they are making is increased, allowing

18 Department of Education and Skills, Person-Centred Approaches and Adults with Learning Difficulties (2006), 25.19 Department of Education and Skills, Person Centered Approaches, 37.20 The Inclusion Network offers training in person-centered assessment and publishes training material through Inclusion Press. See John O’Brien, Jack Pearpoint, and Lynda Khan, The Paths and Maps Handbook: Person-Centered Ways to Build Community (Inclusion Press, 2010). See also National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability, Assessment Jump Start, http://www.ncwd-youth.info/assessment, last accessed Wed, Apr. 20th, 2016.

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them to more fully take pride in their achievements as they advance through the training program.

As discussed previously, the main pre-program assessment will be conducted using the Paths and Maps system. This person-centered assessment tool is graphically presented, making it well-suited for people with little to no literacy skills. A Paths and Maps assessment helps to inventory the skills and abilities of individuals and also provide them with a realistic action plan to obtain their goals. The assessment is conducted by two facilitators in collaboration with the person being assessed and their support network.

To carry out this assessment, the Sivuariit program facilitators will need to receive training on how to use the Paths and Maps system. Training is provided by the Inclusion Network, based out of Toronto, Ontario. There are two training sessions in the near future. The first is at the Inclusion Network’s Summer Institute, a conference on inclusion, diversity, and community held July 9th-14th, 2016, in Toronto. Registration costs are $750 per person, or $625 per person for teams of three or more, plus accommodation. The next training opportunity is in September at a specific Paths and Maps workshop, held Sept. 19th-21st, 2016, in Toronto. Registration costs are $600 per person, or $525 per person for teams of three or more, plus accommodation. The required texts will also have to be purchased at a cost of $210. Flights to Toronto would be another cost associated with training. NDMS is also exploring the possibility of bringing Paths and Maps trainers up to Iqlauit to conduct workshops here.

NDMS will apply for funding for Paths and Maps training from the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities, administered by Employment and Social Development Canada and Service Canada. Funding may be accessed through the Opportunities Fund’s Skills for Employment or Enhanced Employment Assistance Services initiatives. Ilinniapaa Campus will collaborate with NDMS on the grant application so that staff from both organizations can receive training in Paths and Maps.

In addition to Paths and Maps, the Assessment of Phonological Awareness and Reading (APAR) will be used to determine the literacy skills of program participants. The APAR measures ability to read and comprehend words and sentences, as well as listening comprehension. The APAR is suitable for assessment of both verbal and non-verbal individuals. As mentioned previously, the format of the APAR can also be easily adapted to assess the numeracy levels of program participants.

The APAR is provided free of cost to interested service providers. However, one component of the APAR does have to be purchased: the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), which is available from Pearson Education for $464. Administration of the PPVT requires a qualified facilitator with accreditation in psychology, education, occupational therapy, social work, or another related field. NDMS is currently

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exploring if the PPVT can be administered by Ilinniapaa Campus or contracted out to a local occupational therapist.

2.2 Training Modules

The curriculum for the Sivuariit Employability Program will be informed by the best practices of similar employment skills training programs for people with disabilities carried out by other organizations such as the YWCA, the Coalition for Persons with Disabilities, the Canadian Council on Work and Rehabilitation, and the National Collaboration on Workforce and Disability. The following is a starting point for curriculum development. As this project progresses, the curriculum will be adjusted to meet the needs of program participants and partner employers. Currently, the Sivuariit curriculum consists of thirty half-day modules split into six different sections as follows:

IntroductionOverview and ExpectationsLiteracy GroundworkNumeracy Groundwork

Building Skills and TalentsCommunicationListening and Asking QuestionsMaking Yourself UnderstoodTeamwork SkillsProblem Solving/Critical ThinkingMaximizing Talents and Abilities

Making a Successful TransitionDealing with ChangeStress ManagementFinancial Awareness

Obtaining EmploymentBuilding Self EsteemEnthusiasm and AttitudeIncreasing Personal PowerLooking GreatGoal SettingInterview Prep

Knowing Your RightsAwareness of BarriersUnderstanding Accommodation RightsSelf-Advocacy and Requesting Accommodations

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Employment Standards

Doing Well on the JobEmployer Myths and MisconceptionsEmployer ExpectationsBuilding Relationships with Employers and Co-workersProfessionalismTime ManagementCustomer ServiceWorkplace Safety and First AidStrategies for Success

In order to keep learners energized and engaged, experimental learning activities will be used whenever possible. Lessons will also use visual learning aids and demonstrations to their fullest extent. Review materials will be given to program participants in video format for ease of use. Lessons will be planned according to the Life Skills lesson model as follows:21

Lesson Component

Purpose Techniques Used

Goals Statements indicating the objectives of the lesson

Stated and posted to the group

Rationale Briefly explains the relevance of the topic

Stated to the group

Warm Up An activity to energize the group, set the mood, or act as a group builder

Physical action, free association, art, games, quizzes, etc.

Exercise 1 (Stimulus and

Evocation)

An activity used to introduce the topic to participants in a subjective manner. Then responses are shared and reflected on

Recalling personal experiences, using music, video, stories and reactions

Theory (Objective Enquiry)

The presentation of the ‘big picture,’ a theoretical model, or a demonstration of a specific behaviour

Generalizations, frameworks, definitions

Exercise 2 (Skill Practice)

Structured activities that enable the participants to explore and practice the skills and/or behaviour taught in the theory

Role-play, case studies, games and/or small group discussions

Exercise 3 (Skills

These activities encourage participants to consider how they

Transfer learning skills to ‘real life’ and create a plan

21 Table excerpted from Dololres Montavez-Ruz et al., eds., Employability for People with Disabilities: Discovering Life Skills, vol. 9 (YWCA Toronto, 2006), vi.

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Application) will apply new skills or insights into their real lives

to apply it.

Evaluation Participants evaluate their own learning and provide feedback on the lesson, measuring cognitive, affective or active skills learned.

Questionnaires, rating scales, ranking

Below is a sample lesson plan:

Teamwork Skills in the Workplace

Goals: To see the teamwork skills needed in the workplace To raise confidence by recognizing our own teamwork skills To understand how we can best be part of a team

Rationale:This workshop will help to see the importance of teamwork in every workplace setting and what actions lead to good teamwork. It will help the participants assess their skills and figure out how to develop those that need improvement.

Materials Needed:Flipchart, Power Point, markers, building materials (blocks, newspapers, tape, spaghetti, marshmallows, playdough, etc.)

Warm-up:

Inclusive musical chairs – Played like musical chairs, but no team members are ever “out.” Instead, as each chair is removed, everyone still has to sit and the players have to make room for each other. Before starting, ask participants how they think they will solve this problem. Play until a few chairs are remaining, depending on the size of the group. Afterwards, discuss some of the following questions: How did it feel when you learned that no one would be “out”? Did it feel like it would be hard to fit everyone in? How did the team work together to accomplish this task? Also, to provide a literacy or numeracy dimension to this activity, chairs could be labeled with letters and/or numbers and be removed from play as their corresponding letter or number is drawn from a bag. Participants would have to match the drawn letter or number with the chair that needs to be removed.

Exercise 1 – Groundwork for Identifying our Teamwork Skills

Define “teamwork” as two or more people working toward a common goal. Get participants to give examples of teamwork they have observed. Write these down on the left-hand side of the flipchart. For example – workers at the grocery store, hunting/fishing, family activity, sports teams, etc. On the right side, get participants to list teamwork skills needed for each example. Have a group discussion where

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everyone identifies two teamwork skills they’re good at, and one skill they need to improve on. Discuss ways they can improve on their skills.

Theory – Steps to Being an Effective Team Member

Present definition of teamwork again: two or more people working towards a common goal. Brainstorm with participants about common goals, steer the discussion towards common goals at work. Provide concrete examples of some common goals: providing a service, making a profit, improving quality, improving productivity, etc. Ask the group: “What do employers want of their team of employees?” Write down their ideas, then present the following list (with visual representations and text) of teamwork skills in the workplace. Discuss list with concrete examples. Ask participants to start thinking of which skills they’re good at, and which they think they need to improve.

Have the skills or knowledge to complete your part of the task Be willing to learn new skills and share knowledge with others Be on time regularly Complete assigned tasks Know and abide by company rules Need minimal supervision Learn to be open to others’ point of view Show enthusiasm for the job and take initiative when required Give credit to others for their contributions Be job-appropriate in personal dress, hygiene, language, and manners Show sensitivity to others’ cultures and special needs Inform appropriate person if you will be absent or unable to complete a task Be willing to go the “extra mile” if required to reach a goal Avoid criticizing fellow employees Bring a good sense of humor to work

Exercise 2 – Team Building Challenge

Divide participants into two groups. Have each group select a team leader. Provide each team with building materials, and tell them they have to try and build the tallest tower possible as a team; however, the team leader is not allowed to touch any of the materials, they can only give instruction, guidance, or encouragement. Before they begin, review the stated workplace teamwork skills. Ask them to keep these in mind as they work as a team to achieve a common goal.

Exercise 3 – Employability Teamwork Skills

Divide participants into two groups again. Ask group members to think of three employability teamwork skills they’re good at, and two they need to improve. Get them to share with each other their three identified teamwork strengths, and think of examples of how they used these skills in real life. Then, if they feel comfortable,

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ask them to share what they need to improve, and have the group brainstorm ways they can improve. Try to pair people up who have opposite strengths and weaknesses. Then, have groups present their strategies to each other.

2.3 Inclusion Café Placement and Job Shadowing

As participants in the Sivuariit program enter into the final weeks of the skills training curriculum, they will begin a three-month placement at the Inclusion Café. This will allow participants to practice the employability skills they have learned over the duration of the course and apply them in a real-world setting. The Inclusion Café was founded by NDMS to provide employment to adults with disabilities within a catering company, preparing food for off-site catering jobs. During this job placement, the Inclusion Café will be open to the public, allowing program participants opportunities to interact with the community and develop customer service skills. Participants will gain experience working in a food preparation enterprise where they will be able to put employability skills such as communication, time management, and professionalism into practice. The participant’s literacy and numeracy skills will also be further advanced by following the Café’s specially developed visual recipes. The job placement at the Inclusion Café will be a paid position.

In addition to this job placement, participants will get a chance to try brief one-week stints with local employers in order to see what it is like to work in different kinds of fields, such as hospitality, retail, or cleaning services. While this job shadowing will give program participants valuable work experience to add to their resumes, it will also give local businesses experience with employing adults with disabilities and expose them to a largely untapped pool of potential employees. As these short-term week-long job shadowing placements will be largely exploratory for both program participants and employers, they will be unpaid positions.

2.4 Post-program Assessment

During the post-program assessment, program participants will revisit their Path and Maps assessment from the beginning of the program in order to determine their progress towards reaching their goals. By this point, participants should have a clearer idea of what kind of work they are looking for. As such, individuals will go through another Paths and Maps assessment to document the new skills they have learned and plan how they can use them in the future as they search for, and hopefully find, employment. The literacy and numeracy assessments will also be repeated at the end of the program to get a sense of how these skills have been improved through participation in the Sivuariit curriculum.

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2.5 Employment Placement Support

After completion of the post-program assessment, participants will be given assistance in finding a job. Through our service provider partner, Ilinniapaa Campus, participants will receive tailored guidance in resume building and interview preparation. Ilinniappa will also help job seekers to create employability skills portfolios. These portfolios will help display the additional skills and talents of job seekers that could be difficult to express in a traditional resume. Participants will then be paired with local employer representatives from their chosen fields and industries who have positions to fill, and job interviews will be conducted. These interviews will primarily be with the Sivuariit program’s service training partners, who will be expected to offer positions to successful program participants in exchange for their training needs to be incorporated within the program’s curriculum. However, depending on how many service training partnerships NDMS is able to initiate, these interviews could also be arranged with other local employers who have positions to fill that match the skill sets of program participants.

Once participants gain employment, NDMS will continue to offer support to both employees and employers through its partnership with Ready Willing and Able (RWA). Job coaches will be available to help program participants transition into their new positions and assist with any on-job training that is still needed. Funding can be provided to acquire any assistive devices or technologies needed to accommodate employees with disabilities. NDMS will also be able to give guidance on creating inclusive workplace policies and provide diversity and inclusion training in the workplace.

3.0 Sustaining Employment

While the main goal of the Sivuariit Employability Program is finding work for our clients, the true measure of success will be if program participants are able to sustain their positions for the long-term. Many barriers to long-term employment have been identified for people with disabilities, such as inflexible hours and a lack of transportation.22 In terms of employers, many worry about a lack of resources to accommodate employees with disabilities, or assume providing special training to employees with disabilities will prove too much of a burden moving forward.23 Many of these concerns will be addressed throughout the Sivuariit program.

22 Coalition for Persons with Disabilities, Making Learning Accessible to Achieve Employability: Evaluation and Lessons Learned (2008), 36-37.

23 Nunavut Environment Scan, 24-25.

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Employees will learn self-advocacy and problem solving skills to overcome obstacles such as scheduling and transportation, and employers will have assistance in accommodating employees and continuing workplace training through job coaches. But to ensure that program participants, both employees and employers, are satisfied with their new arrangements and that jobs created through the Sivuariit program are sustainable, continuing consultation with all program participants is needed after the program is completed.

On another level, to truly have sustainable employment for people with disabilities in Nunavut, the Sivuariit program needs to be expanded beyond Iqaluit to other communities in the territory. To do so, NDMS will create a digital toolkit of course materials that can be used by interested organizations from Rankin Inlet to Resolute to foster employment for Nunavummiut with disabilities.

3.1 Follow-up with Participants

To increase the likeliness that program participants will make successful and sustainable transitions into the workforce, it will be necessary to follow up with both employees and employers at key junctures in their new relationships. According to the CCRW’s Service Training Partnership model, follow-up sessions should be clearly scheduled before employment commences so that all parties involved know to expect ongoing support.24

In terms of employers, many of their common concerns about inclusive hiring can be addressed before program participants even start working for them. Businesses and organizations that sign on as service training partners with the Sivuariit program will be able to provide input into the specific skills training employees will need to succeed in their jobs. Through their participation in the program, employer partners will be able to meet and get to know potential employees before the hiring process, which will help ensure a good fit.

Despite these precautions, it will still be important to monitor the early stages of employment to make sure that all parties involved are satisfied. To do so, NDMS will schedule four follow-up meetings with employers and employees, which CCRW suggests should happen at the one week, two week, one month, and three month marks. After three months, “employers and their new hires should feel comfortable and confident in their new relationships.”25 Knowing that they will be supported in their new jobs is a key factor in sustainable employment for people with disabilities.26 But unforeseen circumstances can arise in even the best of situations, so it is important that both employees and employers know they can turn to NDMS

24 CCRW, Skills Training Partnership Employment Manual, 46.25 CCRW, Skills Training Partnership Employment Manual, 46.26 CCRW, Skills Training Partnership Employment Manual, 47.

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to help address issues on an as needed basis outside of scheduled follow-up meeting as well.

Not all program graduates will be successful in finding sustainable employment. In some cases, employers might have to end the employment of program graduates for a variety of reasons, even after interventions by NDMS. In other cases, program graduates may have several job interviews, but no job offers. In all such situations it will be necessary to speak with both employer and employee to figure out what led to this outcome and what steps can be taken so as not to repeat the situation in the future. NDMS would then continue to offer job search support and employability skills training to the program graduate.

3.2 Next Steps3.3. Toolkit Development

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