AGENDA

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NEADS Conference 2004 Right On! Information
Session
Presented by Jennifer Dillon Ability Edge
Coordinator
November 2004
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Introduction

• Pilot internships developed with
• Canadian Bankers Association
• Original and ongoing funding through HRDC
• Initial internships available in 6 cities
  Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and
  Halifax
• Now available nationally through range of
  Canadian employers (host organizations)

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Program

• Provides 6- to 12-month internships
• for university, college or high school
  graduates with disabilities
• Developed and operated by Career Edge, Canadas
  national youth internship program
• Graduates apply online to internships at leading
  Canadian companies - www.abilityedge.ca
• Interns earn a monthly stipend of 1,666.67
• Interns supported with accommodations

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Our Partners

• Over 700 Canadian employers, university/college
  career centres and special needs offices
• HRDC and community agencies such as
• Canadian Hearing Society
• Canadian National Institute for the Blind
• Canadian Paraplegic Association
• Line 1000
• Link Up
• CCRW - WORKink
• The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada
• Ontario March of Dimes
• Ability Edge interns and alumni

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Eligibility

• Person with a disability
• A High School, College or University graduate
• No career related work experience
• Eligible to work in Canada and
• Not previously been a Career Edge intern

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Advantages

• Less competition
• Access to both Ability Edge and Career Edge
  internship opportunities
• Targeted programs focused on the recruitment of
  people with disabilities
• Host organization knowledgeable in workplace
  accommodations and
• diversity issues more

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Advantages

• On-line application process
• Intern opportunities across many industry sectors
• Interns gain experience at top employers
• Supportive Career Edge Staff available for
  website assistance and information
• Interns develop professional network for future
• Opens door to full-time employment

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Intern Positions

• More than 50 internship opportunities now
  available across Canada.
• Intern positions include
• Business Analyst
• Financial Services Representative
• Human Resources Officer
• Voluntary / Mandatory Corporate Action
  Administrator
• Personal Banking Officer Trainee
• Environment Health Safety Coordinator
• Customer Representative
• Subsidiary and Liquidity Analyst

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Testimonial
I am a person with a disability and I completed a
12-month Ability Edge internship in the Greater
Vancouver Area with BMO. I was a Portfolio
Monitoring Officer intern and my main
responsibilities were to calculate margins,
communicate the margin information to Commercial
Account Managers and customers, and complete the
final task of updating the respective margin
information onto the Bank of Montreal
organizational computer. I was offered a
full-time position with The Bank of Montreal as a
Portfolio Monitoring Officer on August 17,
2004. Upon graduating from the University of
Manitoba with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, I
thought it would be quite easy to get a job. I
was lacking one thing though, the work
experience, and soon learned that a degree means
little unless one has the work experience to go
along with it. In addition, being physically
challenged and having no work experience,
companies did not really want to take a chance on
me not knowing how much accommodations I would
need to do the job. Ability Edge has helped me
achieve this giving me the experience I needed in
my chosen field and has given me the
self-confidence that tells me Yes I can do the
work required in a full time job. - Colin
Stoll, Ability Edge Intern
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Results
Host Organizations 10 Interns
placed 170 Employment within 2-3
months 73 Hired full-time by Host 60 As
of October, 2004
Career Edge Program Results Over 6000 interns
placed by more than 900 host companies since 1996
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Contact us and start your career today
www.abilityedge.ca