‘Transition NB’ aims to improve employment opportunities for disabled youth

Ability New Brunswick is looking to help more disabled youth in the province find permanent work after high school.

The organization has launched a program called “Transition NB,” aimed at helping youth in the province with mobility disabilities access post-secondary education and find employment after graduation.

“We know that the youth we work with are less likely to go on to post-secondary education, they are less likely to receive a high school diploma compared to those without a disability, and less likely to go to university so we have a lot of work to do,” Ability NB representative Haley Flaro said.

Moncton’s James Brace is well beyond his high school years, but says he hasn’t been able to find permanent work since he lost the use of his legs in a truck accident 10 years ago.

“It’s harder to find work to kind of fit your needs and be able to do what you want to do without somebody looking down on you, thinking the chair is the person,” Brace said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's harder to find work to kind of fit your needs and be able to do what you want to do without somebody looking down on you, thinking the chair is the person," Brace said.

He says he has applied for countless jobs in small engine repair and heavy equipment operation, both of which he says he is perfectly trained for and physically able to do, but he has yet to find an employer willing to hire him.

“I believe my disability is really slowing me down trying to find a job.”

He hopes the new program will help bridge the gap between employers and people with disabilities, so young people don’t have the face the same struggles he is still facing today.

Brace went back to school after his accident to study small engine repair, something Flaro says Ability NB is willing to work with to help him find a job in his field. An encouraging step for Brace, who says he’s just about ready to give up.

“You can only get beat up with the word ‘no’ so much and you just can’t take it anymore — that is where I am at right now.”

New Brunswick has among the highest unemployment rates in the country for people with disabilities.

According to the latest statistics from 2008, Flaro says about 50 per cent of people with disabilities in the province are unemployed.

Flaro says Ability NB has received funding from the province and the Community Foundations of Canada Youth Datalyst Fund, enabling them to 4 transition planners who will work with youth across the province as the program kicks off in the coming weeks.