The City of Lloydminster has announced new hiring practices.
The city has partnered with Inclusion Lloydminter and the Rotary Employment Partnership to introduce the Inclusion and Diversity Policy, which provides a framework for a city workforce that includes people with disabilities.
City councillor and longtime rotarian Jason Whiting had a large role in formulating the policy. He says he’s happy to introduce it.
“It’s exciting for me because now it’s something that’s in place and will be here long after we’re on council,” Whiting said. “This is something that the city [and] the administration will look at every time that they’re hiring in Lloydminster, and it’s something that we’ll leave as a legacy as councillors.”
President of Inclusion Lloydminster Robin Acton says that the new policy will be a positive force in the community.
“It has a major impact,” Acton said. “Just like you and I have dreams when we’re little kids of growing up, and getting jobs, and having a career, and contributing, and making money, and buying a home, so do young people with developmental disabilities. The challenge is they don’t often have the opportunity. Over 80% of people with developmental disabilities are unemployed or underemployed. So having a major institution like the City of Lloydminster step forward and say, ‘we recognize this, and we’re going to try to change our hiring practices to make sure that the city workforce is inclusive.'”
Acton also says that the framework is important because it will help the city’s workforce reflect the people they are serving.