Humber College lit up the Welcome Centre at Lakeshore Campus in blue and purple hues as part of an initiative raising awareness around National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).

For the first time, Humber participated in the Light It Up! For NDEAM 2023 campaign on October 19. It’s a nationwide event organized by the Ontario Disability Employment Network.

NDEAM is an annual campaign that promotes disability inclusion in business and the workplace while Light It Up! helps spark conversations about disability inclusion in employment, business and communities. Last year, more than 440 locations in almost 120 communities participated in Light It Up! including the CN Tower, the Calgary Tower and Niagara Falls.

Humber has a variety of services to support learners with disabilities on their academic and career journeys and established the Transition to Work program to help students with disabilities prepare for the workplace. It aims to enhance successful career outcomes and strategies for persons with disabilities through hosting workshops and events and connecting learners with College support staff, employers, alumni and community agencies.

Phil Legate, associate director, Advising and Career Services at Humber, said that an infusion of funding from CIBC has allowed them to grow the Transition to Work program and that included holding events in October for the first time.  

Alison Bambury, a Transition to Work program specialist, and the Transition to Work Committee got the month started with a Disability Employment Awareness Symposium on October 3 that had close to 200 people attend.

Over the course of the month, there are two in-person Meet Your Advisor events – one that was held on October 19 at Lakeshore Campus and the other happening October 30 at North Campus. Registration is required for the events that are for current Humber students with disabilities to meet advisors and staff from various student service departments to learn more about the resources available at the College to help with the transition to the workplace.

"Persons with disabilities face many barriers to learning, to skill development and, ultimately, all the way through to career outcomes and gainful employment," said Legate. "That's why this month is important for building awareness and reducing the stigma associated with persons with disabilities."

Find out more on the Transition to Work webpage.