Summit School, Aldo Group join forces to bolster inclusive workplaces

There is a moment that Carolyne Johnston, job coach with Summit School’s Empower Initiative, has witnessed more times than she can count. A young person steps into a new workplace for the very first time, wide-eyed, a little nervous, not entirely sure what to expect. Then, over the course of their placement, that same person begins moving through the warehouse with growing confidence, working independently, head down and focused. “When a student has a couple of internships under their belt, you can just see the shift,” Johnston said. “It’s like, okay, I can do this. I know I can do this.”

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That journey is at the heart of the partnership between the Aldo Group and Summit School’s Empower Initiative, a job-training program for neurodiverse young adults between the ages of 16 to 21. Summit’s model pairs each student with a dedicated on-site job coach, providing the guidance needed for success and allowing partner businesses to easily benefit from their skills. 

This school year, students were placed within Aldo’s sample management department, and within three weeks, they were working fully autonomously.

“It goes above being simply socially responsive. It’s about creating a workplace where everyone can thrive and find their fit,” said Ariane Cardi-Dubois, manager of Sample Management at the Aldo Group. “Curiosity runs through everything we do at Aldo. ‘try everything’ is basically our motto, and our neurodivergent interns embody that spirit.”

For Cardi-Dubois, one moment stood out in particular: “Jeremiah was a huge sneaker fan, and his excitement for the product resonated with the whole team. It’s not just about skills. They bring passion too.”

According to Statistics Canada's Canadian Survey on Disability, only 33% of autistic adults in Canada are employed, compared to an employment rate of roughly 80% for the general working-age population.

“We are asking Montreal’s business community to stop treating inclusion as a gesture and start treating it as a strategy,” said Herman Erdogmus, director general of Summit School. “The students are ready. The only thing missing is the next company willing to open its doors.”

For more information: summitempowers.com.