Your next great hire might not be in your pipeline yet

Before you post your next role, it’s worth knowing who you might be missing. 

There are over 855,000 Canadians with disabilities who are ready and willing to work.  [Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work] 

In Alberta alone, 142,520 people are neither in school nor employed, a large group of capable people who are very likely not in your recruitment pipeline.  [ATB Financial’s “The Twenty-Four” (ATB Economics)] 

That’s the opportunity. Here’s the case for acting on it, and the honest answers to the questions employers actually ask.

More than one in four Canadians, 27%, aged 15 and older have one or more disabilities, up from 22% in 2017. As the workforce ages and hiring gets harder, that’s not a group any employer can afford to overlook.  [Statistics Canada, 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability] 

There’s also a gap worth closing. Among core-aged workers, the employment rate for men with a disability is 74.4%, compared to 91.4% for men without one. For women, it’s 72.5% compared to 83.8%. Those gaps represent skilled, available people who want to work.  [Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, 2023] 

And here’s the part that should encourage Alberta employers: employment rates for people with disabilities are already highest in Alberta, alongside a few other provinces. The employers leading on this are increasingly in your own backyard.  [Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, 2023]

Gateway Association is a talent recruitment partner. We work with job seekers living with a disability in Edmonton and Calgary, and we match them to employers who need reliable people. By the time a candidate reaches your interview, they’ve done career planning, interview practice, and often a mentorship in your industry, so they arrive ready and genuinely want the role. 

Then we stay. After the hire, a Career Inclusion Consultant remains available to you and your new employee for as long as needed (whatever is needed to support you), to support onboarding, accommodation questions, and anything that comes up. You can reach out to the consultant any time.

In 2025 we worked with over 400 employer partners across Edmonton and Calgary, and Gateway-placed job seekers have earned more than $3 million in wages over the last two years.  [Gateway Association data] 

Gateway helps employers recruit, train, and retain people with disabilities, at no cost, with screening, matching, onboarding, and accommodation support. If you’re an employer, you can partner with Gateway

“Will accommodations cost me?” 

This is the most common worry, and the numbers settle it. The average one-time cost of a workplace accommodation in Canada is just $375. More than a third cost under $100, and only 6.8% cost more than $1,000.  [CCRW, 2024 Shaping Tomorrow Trends Report] 

In practice, the most requested accommodation isn’t a renovation at all, it’s modified work hours. When there is a need, Gateway helps you assess it and connect to any available funding.  [Statistics Canada, 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability] 

“We tried inclusive hiring before and it didn’t work.” 

Often what failed wasn’t the hire. It was the lack of support after it. A placement with no follow-up is set up to struggle. Gateway’s model is built for the opposite. We stay involved for up to a year, working with you on accommodations, performance, and on-the-job support when it helps. You’re not figuring it out alone, and you’re not starting from a single past experience. 

“What about turnover and reliability?” 

This is where the case is strongest, and it’s your bottom line. Gateway candidates have done career exploration before they apply, so they want the specific role, which is exactly what reduces the costly cycle of hiring and rehiring. Gateway-placed job seekers stay in their roles for an average of 1.2 years.  [Gateway Association data] 

Beyond retention, companies that prioritize disability inclusion see measurable business results: 1.6 times more revenue, 2.6 times more net income, and a 25% higher likelihood of outperforming competitors.  [CCRW, 2024 Shaping Tomorrow Trends Report] 

“Where would we even start?” 

The easiest entry point is mentorship, through Gateway’s MentorAbility program. It asks very little of you. A staff member spends an hour to a day sharing what they know about your industry with a job seeker exploring that field. It upskills your existing employees, engages senior staff, and gives you a low-commitment way to see what a Gateway partnership looks like before you ever post a role.

This isn’t theoretical. Real Canadian Superstore has hired numerous people through Gateway, and their leaders describe the difference it’s made to team morale and communication. At Sobeys, a general manager who started her own career on a cash register now hires the way someone who came up through the floor would. At Lowe’s in South Edmonton Common, a Gateway-placed cashier has been recognized for customer service four times. At Michaels, a job seeker who feared interviews most is now a valued member of the Environment Team. 

These aren’t charity stories. They’re employers who found good talent where others weren’t looking.

There’s a hiring-market reason too. 76% of job seekers, with and without disabilities, consider an employer’s diversity and inclusion when deciding where to work. A team that reflects your community helps you attract the next one.  [CCRW, 2024 Shaping Tomorrow Trends Report] 

You don’t need a formal disability policy in place to begin. You don’t need to change your business. You need one open conversation about where good talent can come from.