This year we are happy to announce the Ready Willing and Able Initiative will be joining the National Pet Industry Trade Show this year. Ready Willing and
Able is unlike any other exhibitor we have hosted before. Instead of pet products they offer access to
an untapped staffing resource for pet businesses.
Ready, Willing and Able
is a national initiative who’s goal is to increase the labour force participation of people with
intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder. They work with employers from coast to
coast matching up their clients with employers. Including a new pilot project with Home Depot. Helping to fill the needs of
both.
We were approached in the spring by Alicia
Xavier, Regional Autism Coordinator for the organization looking for insight
into how to connect the people at Ready Willing and Able to pet businesses in
Canada. It was such a natural fit for
both their clients and our visitors we invited them to join us this weekend.
I will let Alicia explain their interest: “People with ASD are not only qualified to
work in the pet industry, but those with autism that find social interaction a
challenge have found comfort working with animals and within the industry.[1]
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder have excelled in roles such as:
veterinarian’s assistant, tending to the needs of livestock, and working with a
pet-grooming establishment.
Job seekers with ASD also possess unique strengths
that contribute to company productivity and innovation. Many of these characteristics
are assets within the pet industry.
Some of these strengths can include:
• Extraordinary concentration capabilities
• Exceptional attention
to detail
• Excellent problem-solving
skills and an ability to ‘think
outside the box’
• Exceptional memory
• Specialized
skills or interests (heightened
abilities in logical reasoning and pattern recognition)
• Reliability
and honesty
• Ability to excel in tasks that involve a high
degree of precision and repetition
To find out more about this program you can visit Ready
Willing and Able at the National Pet Industry Trade Show or contact Alicia
Xavier, Regional Autism Coordinator, axavier@autism.net, 416-322-7877 ext 227
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