News Releases

·         In 2006, the unemployment rate for all people with disabilities aged 15 to 64 was 10.4 per cent, which is higher than the non-disabled population at 6.8 per cent.

·         The unemployment rate for people with disabilities in Canada is more than 50 per cent higher than people without disabilities.

·         Innovative pre-employment training program aims to shatter glass ceilings for people with disabilities.

·         Job retention is extremely high for people who have graduated through the pre-employment program – nearly 70 per cent.

VANCOUVER, October 14, 2010 – BMO Financial Group and JVS Toronto today announced that they are launching an innovative program that will assist persons in the Vancouver area who are living with disabilities to find and maintain employment, and help BMO to recruit qualified candidates to meet its hiring needs in the Vancouver area.

The Pre-Employment Training program, which has been operating successfully in Toronto since 2005, matches highly talented persons with disabilities to progressive employers who want to benefit from the talent, knowledge and experiences a diverse workforce provides.

Under the program, BMO will work closely with JVS and partners in Vancouver to identify and recruit qualified people with disabilities who wish to pursue career opportunities at the bank.  Before placing the job candidates, BMO will provide them with six weeks of on-site workshops and training to give them valuable work skills and support that is designed to help ensure a successful transition into their new jobs.

The Bank will also identify and implement workplace accommodations that will help the candidates successfully manage on-the-job challenges.

BMO, which is recognized for its leadership in fostering workplace diversity, has been an active participant in the pre-employment training program in Toronto. BMO believes it can duplicate the success of that program in Vancouver by tapping into the region's underutilized and talented labour pool.

According to Anat Wertheim, VP of Program Development, JVS Toronto, about one in ten (or 355,000) working age British Columbians lives with a disability. At 65 per cent, the labour force participation rate is much lower than the participation rate for those without a disability (79 per cent).

“This is a vitally important program for the city of Vancouver which has, at the heart of its sustainability, the need to ensure the social well-being of its people. And it is equally important to employers within the city, such as BMO Financial Group, whose ongoing success depends as much upon our ability to attract and retain the absolute best talent in the region as it does upon our ability to deliver innovative products and services to our customers," said Jennifer Muench, District Vice President Vancouver Centre, BMO Bank of Montreal.  "We’ve experienced, first hand, the success of our pre-employment training program in the East and we’re excited about duplicating these results in Western Canada. It’s through initiatives such as this that we’ll help create an inclusive workforce and further our value of embracing diversity."

"Challenges should not stop employers from pursuing opportunities to strengthen their business," said Ms. Wertheim.  "When you hire someone with disabilities, you gain a highly-committed employee, and you start to eliminate the root of the challenges associated with hiring someone with disabilities by breaking down physical barriers, ill-informed presumptions and negative preconceptions."

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