Two more businesses have signed the City of Belleville’s Workplace Inclusion Charter.
The Enrichment Centre for Mental Health and the Centre for Workforce Development have signed the charter which encourages local businesses and organizations to make a commitment to inclusion in the workplace.
Enrichment Centre for Mental Health: The Enrichment Centre for Mental Health believes lived experience is as valuable as formal education/training and incorporates that into the hiring process of the agency. This supports an anti-oppression lens for inclusive hiring that brings such a wealth of empathy and understanding for mental illness, poverty and employment barriers.“With the varied lived experiences and life journeys of our staff, inclusivity and acceptance have always been assumed in our culture,” said Enrichment Centre for Mental Health Executive Director Sandie Sidsworth. “It was when we began reviewing the 50 – 30 challenge that we realized we could and wanted to do more.”When it comes to next steps for the organization, they will be aiming to tell the stories of their staff and people in the agency surviving and thriving to help reduce stigma and create more inclusive bridges for clients to reach out.
Centre for Workforce Development: As a local expert on labour market research, the Centre for Workforce Development (CFWD) understands the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in workforce development. Research shows that where employers have implemented policies to support this, employee attraction and retention has greater success.CFWD has a diverse and inclusive Board of Directors and when job opportunities arise within the board, they ensure that an inclusive application process is maintained.“Our Board’s mission is to build positive and lasting collaborations to identify community needs, facilitate solutions, and advocate for the development of a skilled, inclusive and adaptive labour force in the counties of Prince Edward, Hastings and Lennox & Addington,” said Centre for Workforce Development Executive Director Brad Labadie. “By signing onto the Charter, we felt that we were further affirming our commitment to this important mission.”Going forward, CFWD will continue to strive towards their Board’s mission and aim to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce in our community.
The city adopted the charter earlier this year.
Mayor Neil Ellis says, “As more organizations and businesses sign the charter, we are that much closer to our goal of building equitable and prosperous workplaces, and a more diverse, welcoming community.”
