Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN): Rethinking Disability Conference 2022

ODEN is hosting their in-person Annual Rethinking Disability Conference from November 14 – 16, 2022

This conference is designed for employment service agencies to enhance their professional development, increase capacity, and learn new skills to apply to their services and inclusive hiring processes.  Join colleagues and peers from across the country for three days of learning, networking, food, and fun.

Start the conference off right with Keynote Speaker Joe Roberts.  In 1989 Joe was living on the streets of Vancouver and addicted to substances.  Since 1989, Joe has acquired two college diplomas, became the CEO of one of Vancouver’s leading multimedia companies, walked across Canada to raise funds and awareness, and achieved more success than he could ever have imagined. He tells the story of how determination and perseverance helped his journey change, and how Career Practioners were a big part of that.  He will also tackle the mental health crisis we are facing now, in our clients and on our teams, and help us to start thinking about what we can do to change our journey. Here is a link to a special message from Joe: RDC 2022 – The Skid Row CEO – YouTube

RDC isn’t just about plenary sessions and keynotes. Learning sessions at the conference include topics such as:

• Re-imagining Change: A panel presentation from Employment Service Providers who have been successfully navigating change in its many forms; compelled, required, or desired)
• Mental Health and Burnout: Join presenters from Canadian Mental Health Association as they provide insight, experiences, and a toolkit to support you and your teams
• Employment Discovery – A Critical Step Towards Job Retention: Learn about how to ensure you have inserted time and structure for employment discovery with your clients, and why it is a critical step in their long-term success
• MentorAbility Canada Project – Increasing Employer education and awareness for inclusive employment: Join the Director of MentorAbility Canada for an informative and engaging session on this project, its impacts, and where its going in the future.

If you are within Ontario please note that the conference meets the requirements for PD hours for CCDP recertification with the Career Development Practitioners Certification Board of Ontario.

This year ODEN is thrilled to announce that they have added a Business Sector Only day on Tuesday November 15. This is an exclusive opportunity for businesses and employers/hiring managers/people supervisors to develop or improve their disability awareness and confidence, learn from other businesses that are successfully implementing disability inclusive hiring and retention, and meet employment service providers from across the province who have the talent pool you need to gain that competitive edge for the future of work. 

Attendees for the Business Only sessions will leave with a full Disability Awareness & Confidence certificate, lessons and resources to enhance recruitment and retention, and connections with ESPs that will support their talent and labour search.  For HR Professionals, they also receive 2.25 credit hours with the HRPA.

For more information and to review the full program visit Rethinking Disability Conference 2022