With an increasing number of employers realizing that people with disabilities represent one of the last great untapped employee resources, it looks like students with disabilities are finally getting the break they need.

But whether students with disabilities are being hired into careers or just entry level positions with no opportunity for advancement is still up for debate.

Josh Syrtash, 25, sees a future for himself as a direct banking manager at the Bank of Montreal telephone banking centre in downtown Toronto, Josh has held a job there since he graduated from the bank’s pre-employment program, which provides students with disabilities with training onsite. Graduates come away with work experience at the very least, at most with what Josh believes to be a career.

Josh, who has a learning disability, says the accommodations his employer has made and continues to make, throughout thepre-employment course and his subsequent employment are what allow him to see a future for himself at BMO.

"I do enjoy giving callers advice about credit and investments and I’ve been told by my managers that sales might be something I could specialize in," says Josh, who’s still just happy to be able to finance his own car and a trip with his girlfriend to New York City, things he couldn’t afford before.

Accommodations for Josh included coaching, provided by both his career counselor at the JVS (Jewish Vocational Services) Toronto, one of the founding members of Toronto-based JOIN (Job Opportunity Information Network for Persons with Disabilities) and a former BMO employee hired by BMO, throughout pre-employment training and in his current job.

"My (BMO) coach is great, and he’s still there for me if I need him," says Josh. "And for the first time in my life I feel good about myself when it comes to my job. My self-esteem is great and I see a future for myself."

Josh’s experience with BMO so far has been inspiring, but for most people with disabilities, getting stuck with work without a future and without any real financial stability is much more common, say disability activists.

"The question I always ask is if people are getting more jobs, what kind of jobs are they getting?" asks Julia Munk, a consultant for the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS). "There’s a big difference in today’s economy between working at a lower end job, getting paid minimum wage, or as a consultant without benefits, and having something that can provide for a family."

According to Munk, the real issue is not whether more jobs are becoming available for students with disabilities, but whether those jobs provide career paths, benefits and wages they can live on.

"The issues haven’t changed over the years," says Munk. "Disabled people are still looking for jobs with stability that will allow them to provide for their families. They are looking for jobs that will carry mortgages."

Tim McIsaac, a NEADS rep for Manitoba, currently sees a future for himself working in the equity and recruitment department at Manitoba Hydro. But he says he’s encountered glass ceilings in the past due to the failure of employers to make accommodation for his visual impairment.

"The problem is that lots of times there will be proprietary software that companies don’t want to share with developers of assistive technologies," McIsaac explains. "They’re worried about losing their competitive advantage if they get hacked. So people like me end up not being able to use the new software and get stuck at the lowest levels of a company without the tools they need to advance."

Financial institutions like BMO and TD Canada Trust now have dedicated assistive technology teams, but many other workplaces are still playing catch-up when it comes to assistive technologies, which can make or break the career potentials of people with disabilities.

Employers fear cost of accommodation

Cost, or rather the mistaken belief that accommodations are always extremely pricey is what often makes employers fearful of hiring even the most highly qualified candidates with disabilities, says Julia Knapp, director of programs and services for Job Start, one of the 25 member agencies belonging to JOIN, which work together to share job postings from employers in the Toronto area.

"Employers, especially small to medium sized ones, tend to balk at what they think the cost of potential accommodations will be, when most of the time they average only $500," says Knapp.

Pricey, or no, the need to accommodate a wide variety of disabilities may soon outweigh cost considerations, as the workforce ages and develops disabilities not present prior to hiring. Under Canadian law, all employers are obliged to provide accommodation for disabilities, unless they can prove the cost will cause "undue hardship." This means that even if it were easy for employers to avoid hiring people with disabilities in the first place, it’s going to be a lot harder to get rid of them, especially with the shortage of younger workers to take over for them in the near future. According to the latest census, by 2016 more workers will be leaving the workforce than entering it. Advances in technology are also a major driver, adds Knapp.

"The labour shortage caused by the aging population, as well as legislative changes, are certainly drivers for change, but what we’re also seeing are huge advances in assistive technology," says Knapp.

And while skeptics may maintain economic forces are the main drivers behind increased employment for people with disabilities, Knapp would like to believe the better part of human nature is playing a role as well.

"I’d like to believe that employment equity in hiring is still a value, and that that’s the main reason we’re moving forward," says Knapp.