Employment

All individuals supported by Bonaventure Support Services have diverse support needs with our services built on their strengths, reflecting the physical, developmental, cultural, spiritual, and emotional characteristics of all those we support.

Bonaventure Support Services is contracted by Community Living British Columbia (CLBC) to provide employment services.

Bonaventure Support Services has the expertise to support CLBC eligible adults to find and keep work, using approaches that recognize your unique skills and abilities.

The kind of support you receive will depend on your unique skills, abilities, and support needs.

When the employment service becomes available your supports needs will be identified in collaboration with your entire support team and outlined in your employment plan.

Why is employment important?

Employment is an important way for us to belong and contribute to our community.

When we work, we:

  • Feel included
  • Have a sense of belonging
  • Are happier and more self-confident
  • Increase our friendship circles and social opportunities
  • Have greater financial security and independence
  • Expand our skills and abilities

Why would you want to be employed?

  • To learn new skills and increase your abilities
  • To earn your own money, having greater financial security
  • To meet new people and make new friends
  • To build your confidence and self-esteem
  • To increase your independence
  • To contribute to your own community and have a sense of belonging
  • To provide for your family

What do we do to support your employment journey?

Through an individualized, person-centred approach we will assist you to identify and obtain meaningful, paid, sustainable, employment through a discovery process that identifies and highlights your skills and abilities and matches those with the needs of local employers.

Our employment support team works with you (the employee) and potential or current employers to support on the job training, job coaching, accessibility and accommodations, and successful workplace relationships. Our goal is to help you obtain and maintain meaningful, paid employment, which can expand your social networks, increase your independence, self-determination, and economic well-being.

What is Self-Employment?

Self-employment is when you generate your own income directly from clients or customers. Using a person-centered approach, we will support you in building a business directly from your interests, passions, and skills.

We will work with you as a part of your team to ensure that you are well supported and successful in your role as you build your business, assisting with various components of your business as needed. With time these supports will be faded.

What is Supported Employment?

Supported employment is a partnership between Bonaventure, ‘you’ as the job seeker and an employer. We will work with you and the employer to adjust and adapt to an existing job so that you can be successful in the position. It is a partnership that matches the needs of the employer with your skills.

We will work alongside you as long as needed and will gradually fade out our supports as you become more independent, secure, and confident in your role.

What is Customized Employment?

Customized employment is when Bonaventure works with you to understand your unique skills and abilities through a person-centered process known as Discovery. We will work with a local business to define a role in their workplace that is mutually beneficial for both you and the employer, and which recognizes and embraces your unique skillset and job preferences.

We will work with both you and your employer to ensure that you are well supported and successful in your role. With time these supports will be faded and replaced with natural supports within the workplace.

Information for employers: 

Hire People with Diverse-Abilities

A Canadian business case (PDF) on inclusive hiring reports that employees with diverse-abilities have:

  • Low turnover rate and high attendance
  • A safety rate that is as good as or better than average.
  • No additional costs of employment.
  • A strong positive impact on workplace and community.

Employers who hire by matching an applicant’s abilities to the needs of the job will find a pool of motivated workers who bring unique strengths and perspectives to the job.

Find out more from:

  • WorkBC – Get information about programs and supports for employees with diverse-abilities.
  • Presidents Group – Find more about employers experiences with recruiting, hiring and retaining people with diverse-abilities
  • Open Door Group – Learn about services and supports for employers who hire people with diverse-abilities.
  • Inclusion BC – Find resources and success stories to support employers who hire people with diverse-abilities.
  • Ready, Willing and Able – Build an inclusive workforce by hiring employees with an intellectual diverse-abilities or autism spectrum disorder.
  • Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities – Get funding for certain activities that help people with disabilities obtain or maintain employment.

For additional resources, see the Government of Canada’s Hiring persons with disabilities website. You’ll find facts on the benefits of inclusive hiring, tools to make your workplace inclusive, and sources of financial support.

Quick Facts

  • There are approximately 334,000 British Columbians age 15 to 64 who self-identify as having a diverse-ability.
  • According to the 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability, approximately half of working-age people with diverse-abilities are employed. With a forecast of 903,000 job openings in B.C. between 2018 and 2028, British Columbians with diverse-abilities are an important, and largely untapped, talent pool.
  • Most workplace accommodations for a person with a diverse-abilities cost $500 or less, with many accommodations having no cost.

Inclusive hiring by employers in B.C. supports Accessibility 2024, government’s vision of becoming the most accessible province in Canada for people with disabilities—including having the highest labor participation rate.


Why should you consider hiring people with diverse-ability? Read the compelling business case.

Check out B.C.’s 10-Year Accessibility Action Plan and progress updates.

For additional resources, see the Government of Canada’s Hiring persons with disabilities website. You’ll find facts on the benefits of inclusive hiring, tools to make your workplace inclusive, and sources of financial support.