About Us

A diverse group of people working together and having an engaged discussion in a meeting room. 

About Us

MentorAbility Canada is an initiative coordinated by the Canadian Association for Supported Employment (CASE) that is funded through the Government of Canada’s Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities. It is implemented across the country in collaboration with employment organizations called MentorAbility Hubs.

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Meet MentorAbility Canada

MentorAbility facilitates unique, short-term (from 1 hour to 1 day) mentoring opportunities between employers and job seekers who experience disability. The initiative is built on a supported employment foundation that promotes the recruitment, employment, and retention for persons experiencing disability. It provides opportunities for and celebrates in-person and virtual mentoring experiences, networking and learning events, social media campaigns, as well as research activities.

How It All Began...

The founding idea behind MentorAbility was to create opportunities for conversation, connection, and collaboration between mentors, mentees, and employment professionals. Since its inception in 2019, the initiative has evolved on a national scale to address the ongoing barriers faced by persons experiencing disability when entering the labour market or accessing career advancement opportunities.

Who Are We?

MentorAbility is a national network of employers, mentors, mentees, and service providers who believe that short-term mentorships: 

  can be transformational on a personal and organizational level, and

  
promote the increased employment or self-employment of job seekers who experience disability.

The MentorAbility Model


While mentoring is the core component of MentorAbility, the initiative also involves hosting networking and learning events, raising awareness through social media, and sharing evidence-based practices from the research it funds.

MentorAbility Participants

There are three key members who engage in MentorAbility mentoring experiences: Mentees, Mentors, and Mentorship Facilitators. 

Click the button below to learn more about what each participant gains from participating in the initiative. 

Mentees

Mentees are individuals who experience disability who have signed up to participate in the MentorAbility initiative. They can be anywhere in their career journey and interested in exploring specific industries, jobs, and career pathways. 

Mentors

Mentors are individuals who have signed up to participate in the MentorAbility initiative. They are employers, entrepreneurs, or professionals who want to participate in facilitated mentorships with a facilitator and a mentee. 

Mentorship Facilitator

A Mentorship Facilitator is an individual who facilitates a mentorship between a Mentee and a Mentor. They may be a MentorAbility Hub Coordinator or an individual from a MentorAbility partner organization.  

Community Partners

A Community Partner is an organization that partners with MentorAbility to: 
  • Share information about the initiative with their network.
  • Engage their staff to become Mentorship Facilitators to facilitate mentorships for job seekers.
  • Engage their staff to become Mentors to participate in mentorship matches. 
  • Engage in research around inclusive employment for persons who experience disability, effective mentorship models, and more! 

Hub Organizations and Hub Coordinators 

MentorAbility Canada is coordinated by CASE in collaboration with implementing partner organizations called MentorAbility Hubs that are located across the country.

A Hub Coordinator represents each Hub Organization. They support the facilitation of mentorships. The Hub Coordinators also organize and host learning and networking events and share MentorAbility success stories through social media. 

Inspired by the Supported Employment Model

Supported employment starts with the belief that everyone who wants paid employment can attain it, when the appropriate supports are in place. It is a successful and flexible model for assisting individuals who experience disability to obtain meaningful and fairly compensated work. 

The model works through a partnership between job seeker, support person and employer. It takes a person-centred, individualized approach where job seekers receive support tailored to their specific skills and career goals. Employers are supported with information and resources to help meet their unique labour needs. 

MentorAbility adapts the supported employment model by having an employment professional, in this case a MentorAbility Facilitator, present to support inclusive and meaningful mentorships for all involved. The mentorships are short-term (1-hour to 1-day) activities intended to support job seekers in their career journeys. While there are no expectations of an employment offer from a mentorship, all partners recognize its value in career progression and skill-building.

CASE's 9 Guiding Principles

All projects and activities at CASE are driven by 9 guiding principles that are based on research and evidence exploring the values and promising practices within supported employment.
All projects and activities at CASE are driven by 9 guiding principles that are based on research and evidence around values and promising practices within supported employment.

As MentorAbility adapts the supported employment model, the initiative emphasizes the following principles in particular: 
  • Choice and Control: To provide employment support guided by the job seeker's choices.
  • Partnership and Mentoring: To inspire employers and job seekers experiencing disability to mutually benefit from an inclusive workplace.  
  • Long-Term Support: To promote employment stability and career enhancement.  
  • Full Inclusion: To support the full social and economic inclusion for job seekers experiencing disability. 

Experience Stories

MentorAbility Experiences are stories shared by mentees, mentors, or facilitators that highlight the impact of the initiative. Each MentorAbility Experience shows how a mentor and a mentee come together through a mentorship experience which is facilitated by a local supported employment service provider who is a part of the MentorAbility network.

To read about mentorships across Canada, click on the button below to review our collection of shared experience stories. 

What's Next?

Now that you’re more familiar with MentorAbility, its various participants, and its foundation of supported employment, you can head over to “The Facilitator Role” page to learn more about: 
  • ways you can partner with MentorAbility,
  • training, and
  • various supports available to you.