THE CHALLENGE: 

As people with Down syndrome make their way into adulthood, employment is important inbuilding independence and a sense of dignity. Being employed means much more than earningan income; it means learning new skills, the opportunity to build lasting connections with others,improved self-confidence, a sense of self-worth, and the list goes on.1Despite how valuable employment can be, many individuals with Down syndrome are still largelyexcluded from the workforce. Employers across North America are unaware of this untappedresource, let alone where to find them. 

This presented CDSS with an opportunity to solve theemployment gap by: 

● Creating a space for prospective employers to recruit the community. 

● Inspiring individuals with Down syndrome to join our movement to close theemployment gap. 

● Raising awareness about the community’s ability to contribute to the workforce.THE 

INSIGHT: 

North America is facing a historic labour shortage—with over 6.8 million open jobs—andemployers are in desperate need of hard-working and reliable employees.2 Despite this, over 50%of people with Down syndrome struggle to find meaningful, paid employment.3 Individuals withDown syndrome have been victim to outdated stereotypes and misconceptions about theircapabilities, which ultimately has led to their community being ignored by potential employers.Their abilities in the workplace are underestimated, despite the community having along-standing history of being valuable contributors in a variety of different sectors. Individualswith Down syndrome have been known for bringing a unique set of skills to the workplaceincluding loyalty, dedication, attention to detail, positive attitude, and a contribution to culture,among many others.In addition to misconceptions about the community’s contributions, employers that are open tohiring people with intellectual disabilities remain uninformed about how to reach and connectwith these candidates. From the initial moment in the recruitment journey, all the way through totraining a new employee with Down syndrome, our research found that employers were indesperate need of information, resources, and a designated place to connect and recruit.So, we had our work cut out for us. To solve the employment gap in the Down syndromecommunity once and for all, we needed to make it easy for employers to find and hire the rightapplicants while challenging the long-standing stereotypes that exist about employees withDown syndrome. 

THE EXECUTION: 

Knowing we had to create a first-of-its-kind employment hub for candidates with Downsyndrome, we naturally pursued a partnership with the best-in-class platform for fostering aprofessional network. Introducing inployable: the first-ever employment network for people withDown syndrome on LinkedIn.Prior to the official campaign launch, CDSS released hyper-targeted social posts for the Downsyndrome community, calling on ready-to-work individuals to join inployable. Those looking forwork were able to fill out a brief form on inployable.com, including their LinkedIn profile. If theydidn't have a profile, a LinkedIn coach helped them build one. Next, job seekers are added toinployable's network—basically a company page on LinkedIn—where potential employers couldfind them.The campaign launched to the public during Canadian Down Syndrome Week (October 23-29,2022), via a provocative long-form video featuring cast from the Down syndrome communityadvocating for their right to work. The video showcases “inployable” individuals sharing theirthoughts on how the current hiring system values their resumes: overlooked, underrepresented,and not worth the paper they’re printed on. They are then shown provocatively destroying theirresumes with the help of chainsaws, liquid nitrogen, and a woodchipper, to make way for a newand better way of hiring: inployable.The launch video featured a call to action for both employees and employers to visit the hub anddiscover opportunities to connect. Due to a limited media budget, we pushed the work outthrough social media, primarily on LinkedIn, as well as through PR and community advocacygroups associated with CDSS. The campaign was also supplemented with video content on theinployable page, featuring our Down syndrome cast explaining how the platform works and howto get the most out of the experience.TECHNOLOGY & TOOLS:Destination site - https://inployable.com/Upon visiting our destination site, individuals with Down syndrome who were looking for work,were connected with LinkedIn coaches. These coaches were a live resource to help thecommunity set up their profiles, add their unique skills, and ensure their profiles werediscoverable for prospective employers.Campaign hub - https://www.linkedin.com/companyWe hacked LinkedIn’s very own platform by creating the first ever company page where everysingle employee is open to work. When setting up their profile, individuals with Down syndromewould add themselves as an employee at inployable where prospective employees could thendiscover those potential employees through the people tab. 

THE RESULTS: 

Since its launch, inployable has seen incredible success. As a small Canadiancharity, budgets and resources were slim, but inployable achieved the following:Created a space for connection: 

● 700+ companies followed our page within the first 2 months 

● The companies were from 164 different industries 

● 91% of our followers work directly in HR 

● “inployable is one of the fastest growing company pages on LinkedIn”Sean McConnell, LinkedIn Business Development LeadInspired individuals with Down syndrome to join the movement: 

● 17% of inployable candidates have already been hired, getting us closer to our goal ofzero candidates unemployedRaised awareness about the community’s ability to contribute to the workforce: 

● We achieved 149,000,000+ impressions for the campaign and based on our $7,500 in PRand media support, this equates to 19.867 impressions per $ spent. Not too bad. 

1. https://tradingeconomics.com/canada/unemployment-rate 

2. https://www.downsyndrome.org.au/about-down-syndrome/statistics/employment-statistics/ 

3. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/social-sector/our-insights/the-value-that-employees-with-down-syndromecan-add-to-organizations 

4. https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news/2014/teaching-job-skills-to-those-with-down-syndrome-.html