Kirsten Larsen
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jan 06/98) - People with disabilities are gaining much attention from Yellowknife employers interested in learning about the disabled and their potential for employment.

Approximately 60 employers in the government and private sector signed up early for a workshop held today to explore the realities of being disabled in the workforce.

Rea Celotti, project co-ordinator for the Disabled Persons Work Strategy, expected to see 100 in attendance, including a number of drop-ins throughout the workshop. Celotti said the workshop would likely attract a good mix of private and government employers which had been previously contacted throughout a year-long research project.

The project, funded by Human Resources Development Canada, was developed as part of the Disabled Persons Work Strategy to survey employers' thoughts and experiences regarding disabled people in the workforce.

The workshop is designed to take employers' awareness of disabled people to a higher level.

"What we offer employers is a chance to hear people talk about what it's like (for a person with a disability) to get up every day and to go to work," said Celotti. "A lot of people don't know how to deal with a person with a disability because they don't understand. They may have a co-worker that has a disability and they are not sure what kind of disability it is, if they need help, or how to ask questions about it."

Celotti said that some disabilities are not readily recognizable such as dyslexia, fetal alcohol syndrome and mental illness.

The workshop was also designed to inform employers of the Opportunities Fund, which is available to subsidize employers training or hiring disabled persons.