National Accessibility Resources for Employers (NARE)

This project will create and share resources for employers in disability management on a national basis to improve processes and policies to engage, accommodate, and keep employees with disabilities.

The Work Wellness Institute will leverage its network and more than 30 years of experience to accomplish this goal during and after the pandemic. The institute will share these evidence-informed resources. This project’s primary objective is to track the dissemination and uptake of resources through an expanded network while identifying formats and efficiencies that drive increased awareness and mobilize key knowledge and skills to the end user. A secondary objective is to research the process of rapid project design, implementation and evaluation.

Overlapping image of a woman smiling and sad at work.

The pandemic has required rapid response in the field of research and policy design, and lessons can be learned about the challenges of this approach and the frameworks and foundations required to strengthen Canada’s response to ongoing and future disruption. The NARE program will target skills, knowledge acquisition and confidence in the following areas:

  • Helping employers set up accessible, effective, and flexible work-from-home measures;
  • Providing employer-focused supports to create inclusive workplaces, whether virtual or physical;
  • Connecting people with disabilities, including those working from home, with employers;
  • Training for in-demand jobs.

Future Skills Centre is investing $648,000 in this 2-year project. This project will contribute to a national dialogue required to standardize terminology and support a shared understanding of the skills, knowledge, resource gaps and opportunities experienced by Canadian employers in disability management across sectors – specifically during social and economic disruption. Resulting policy and process will shift the Canadian employment culture to broader adoption of work wellness and inclusive policies across sectors, to the socio-economic benefit of all Canadians.

Evaluation Strategy

This project is evaluated using tools and approaches aligned with its goals, context, and stage of development. The evaluation focuses on generating the right evidence at the right moment to move the intervention forward. Read more about our evaluation strategy.

Featured Projects

healthcare worker smiles with her eyes while wearing mask
Research

Transforming learning in a pandemic contextexternal link icon

Across Canada, in-person learning opportunities for nursing students became limited or stopped completely at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet learning criteria, nursing programs had to pivot. For example, some expanded the use of virtual simulations and scenarios as an alternative to in-person care in hospitals, long-term facilities, or community-based experiences.
A middle aged woman smiling and holding hands with a elderly woman.
Research

Mentoring for Black Nurses—A Retrospective Study

The project explored the role of mentorship in pathways to nursing, including education, employment and advancement, and how anti-Black racism manifests for both internationally and Canadian-trained professionals.
Research

The future is micro: Digital learning and microcredentials for education, retraining and lifelong learning

eCampusOntario has developed a framework foundation for building a consensus definition of microcredentials in Canada to address current needs in the emerging microcredentials ecosystem.
View more