HRPA, National Institute of Disability Management and Research and Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences partner to help employers build accessible workplaces

Partnership with Human Resources Professionals Association will improve accommodations for persons with disabilities in the workplace

TORONTO, May 15, 2015 /CNW/ - The Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) is proud to announce a partnership agreement that will see its 21,000 members gain access to workplace disability management assessment tools and educational resources to help establish effective disability management programs in Ontario workplaces.

The partnership with the National Institute of Disability Management and Research (NIDMAR) will provide HRPA members and their more than 9,000 Ontario organizations with its Disability Management Self-Assessment (DMSA) tool.

Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Science's (PCU-WHS) continuing education program will provide HRPA members with access to disability management education resources to help them better accommodate persons with disabilities in the workplace, including the Certified Disability Management Professional (CDMP) and Certified Return To Work Coordinator (CRTWC) designations granted by the International Disability Management Standards Council.  PCU-WHS will upgrade its program content to include compliance requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and its regulations.

"With one out of every seven Ontarians living with disabilities, and that stat expected to soon rise to one in five as the population ages, it is absolutely necessary that HR professionals have the tools and resources they need to ensure their workplaces are accessible and allow everyone to fully contribute," said HRPA CEO Bill Greenhalgh. "This partnership will do much to improve organizations' abilities to accommodate persons with disabilities in the workplace and assist them to return to work in a timely and safe manner."

About HRPA:

The Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) is the professional regulatory body and the professional association for Human Resources professionals in Ontario, Canada. It oversees more than 20,000 members in 28 chapters across the province. It connects members with an unmatched range of HR information resources, events, professional development and networking opportunities and annually hosts Canada's largest HR conference. In Ontario, HRPA issues three levels of professional certification: the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation for practitioners entering the profession and working in administrative capacities; the Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL), for practitioners working in fully professional capacities; and the Certified Human Resources Executive (CHRE), for senior executives.

About NIDMAR:

The National Institute of Disability Management and Research was established in 1994 by a consortium of business, labour, government, insurance and rehabilitation representatives committed to promoting best practices in disability management.

About PCU-WHS:

Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences is a statutory not-for-profit post-secondary degree granting education and research institution for the special purpose of creating and disseminating new knowledge including applied research in the fields of workplace safety, health promotion, return to work and disability management, comprehensive rehabilitation and disability leadership studies.

SOURCE Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario

Image with caption: "Human Resources Professionals Association chair Brenda Clark (left) and CEO Bill Greenhalgh (middle) sign a partnership agreement with Wolfgang Zimmerman, Executive Director, National Institute of Disability Management and Research (NIDMAR) and president, Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS). NIDMAR and PCU-WHS will be providing HRPA members with diagnostic and educational tools and resources to create accessible workplaces. (CNW Group/Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150515_C7438_PHOTO_EN_16689.jpg

For further information: Duff McCutcheon, Communications Specialist, HRPA, Tel [phone] x 324, [e-mail]