Do you have a disability? Are you looking for work? The Neil Squire Society is hosting a job fair exclusively for people with disabilities, and dozens of companies are participating. The fair is open to people with any kind of disability, intellectual, developmental and physical.
"We are very excited. We've had an overwhelming amount of interest, people phoning and emailing and asking questions," said Alexi Thomas, the society's communications manager. "The main idea is to help more and more people get employed, but the other part of the job fair is educating more employers, and we want to educate them about the positive business case for hiring people with disabilities."
According to Thomas, companies that hire people with disabilities send a message to the public that they embrace an inclusive workforce and community.
Featured employers include the Burnaby NOW, the cities of Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, Aroga Technologies, the Burnaby Board of Trade, UBC, Shaw Communications, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, the Bank of Montreal and many more.
The event is on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Firefighters Banquet & Conference Centre, at 6515 Bonsor St.
The society is also offering help with resumes on Tuesday Oct. 14 and 15 at the Neil Squire Society office (unit 240, 2250 Boundary Rd.) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Help will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. People can bring their resumes, preferably on a memory stick.
The job fair is the first one the Neil Squire Society has hosted, but the society wants to make it an annual event.
At press time, 200 people had registered and more are expected to attend. For more information, go to neilsquire.ca.
