North Island Employment Foundation Society marks 40 years of connecting community to opportunity

North Island Employment Foundation Society marks 40 years of connecting community to opportunity

Published 10:00 am Thursday, September 24, 2026

As Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM) gets underway across Canada, staff at the North Island Employment Foundation Society (NIEFS) say a decades-long web of partnerships between local employers and community organizations is what makes inclusive hiring work on the North Island.

October marks DEAM, a campaign first proclaimed in Canada by the Province of Manitoba in 2010 and British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and several other provinces and territories securing their own proclamations in the years since.

According to Statistics Canada, about one in five working-age Canadians in the labour force, roughly 21 per cent, or 3.2 million workers, experiences some form of disability. Figures show the 2024 employment rate for people with disabilities sat at 46.4 per cent, compared with 66.2 per cent for those without — a gap of nearly 20 percentage points. More than 741,000 working-age people with disabilities are considered to have potential for paid employment in a fully inclusive labour market.

Over the years, NIEFS has worked to connect North Islanders with the training, support and employers they need to build a career.

This year marks the organization’s 40th anniversary and Executive Director Shannon Baikie says the milestone comes alongside collaboration across Campbell River’s nonprofit sector.

NIEFS is the WorkBC employment services contractor for the entire North Island, delivering programs from Black Creek to Port Hardy. Services offered include job development, customized employment, and wage subsidies. Additionally, they offer work and education programming through Foundry locations in Campbell River and Port Hardy, with the latter delivered in partnership with North Island Crisis and Counseling.

Much of that work is built on long-standing partnerships with other community organizations, including Rivercity Inclusion Society (RCIS), with whom NIEFS has collaborated for the entire 40 years NIEFS has existed.

“In smaller cities or smaller communities, there is no one organization that can do it all,” Baikie said, noting the society works closely with RCIS, Foundry and other local groups to make sure residents are connected with the services they need. “We really do have to work better when we work together and collaborate.”

NIEFS operates a disability services team trained to work with clients across a range of disabilities. The team offers job development — working directly with employers to support both a new hire and their workplace — as well as customized employment options such as job carving, where a role is shaped around an individual’s specific skills and wage subsidies that allow employers to bring on a new employee with on-the-job training support.

The society also connects clients to WorkBC Assistive Technology, which can provide equipment such as hearing aids, speech-to-text tools or other disability-related supports.

On the employer side, a separate Employer Services team runs “Talent Talks” and other training sessions to help local businesses support employees with disabilities, newcomers, youth and other members of their workforce. That training isn’t limited to management as it often includes co-workers and supervisors directly on site.

Over the nearly 18 years she’s been with the organization, Baikie says she’s watched employer attitudes shift substantially, driven both by community education efforts and by a tightening labour market. Still, she noted there is more work to do, pointing to ongoing assumptions and discrimination that continue to affect job seekers with disabilities.

As part of ongoing efforts, NIEFS’s annual October career fair includes a quiet-hour option at the start of the fair, designed for people with disabilities, sensory sensitivities, anxiety or other concerns who may find a large, busy event overwhelming.

Attendees can take part in that quiet time on their own or alongside an employment counsellor or job developer. Those interested in learning more or making use of the option are encouraged to reach out to NIEFS or their community organization directly to connect.

Baikie says the option, now in its fourth year, grew out of a community suggestion and has been well received by both job seekers and employers.

NIEFS also hosts the North Island Career Expo in Port McNeill Friday, Sept. 25, a trades- and transportation-focused event developed in partnership with local industry in response to shifts in the forestry sector. Unlike the Campbell River career fair, the expo does not include a dedicated quiet hour, but organizers say they’re looking forward to seeing how the inaugural event unfolds.

Outside Campbell River, NIEFS operates a WorkBC office in Port Hardy and a satellite office in Port McNeil out of the Community Futures building, staffed one to two days a week for residents unable to travel to Port Hardy.

The North Island Career Expo takes place in Port McNeill on Friday, September 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chilton Arena. Learn More on the events page at niefs.net.

The Campbell River Job Fair is on Tuesday, October 27 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Campbell River Community Centre. Learn more on the events page at niefs.net.