In a Nutshell:
Our 2025 journey at WISE
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
— George Bernard Shaw
If we had to sum up 2025 in one word, it would be Innovation.
Strategic Planning: January 2025
Every January, the WISE team steps back for a week of focused planning. We explore new ideas, research emerging trends, and design bold innovations in employment services—from the Discovery Process to learning labs and job development strategies.
Change starts within—and ripples outward…
Introducing WAC: Advocacy in Action
This year, a passionate group of WISE clients launched WAC—a dynamic advocacy club championing Inclusive Employment.
They speak from lived experience, inspiring both job seekers and employers with stories of transformation through meaningful work.
Empower to Achieve: Beyond Employment
WAC members took the stage at the Inclusion BC Conference in Richmond, BC, leading an interactive workshop that energized the audience. Their message?
Inclusive Employment isn’t just a concept—it’s a movement.
Connecting Communities: NEAT & NCL
WAC’s impact spread quickly. Soon, they were invited to Nanaimo to meet NEAT, a newly formed advocacy group.
Together, they’re building a province-wide network of empowered voices.
WAC in the National Scene
WISE presented WAC to the Canadian Association for Supported Employment in the city of Winnipeg. It was a definitive success creating interest and appreciation.
Exploration Compass: Turning Wait Time into Growth Time
Waiting for services—sometimes up to a year—is a reality for many.
WISE saw an opportunity: use that time to help individuals discover their strengths, interests, and available resources. The WISE team created a plan that was presented to the CLBC leadership team.
The Exploration Compass empowers people and eases pressure on systems like CLBC, offering clarity to families navigating disability supports.
Financial Literacy: Building Wealth with Purpose
Wealth and disability shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.
Through a powerful partnership with RBC, WISE delivered financial literacy training to many clients—covering credit safety, savings, payroll, and investing.
Knowledge is power. Financial knowledge is freedom.
Impact 2.0: Summer Employment for Youth
For six years, UNITI has partnered with agencies across BC to offer summer employment experiences to youth aged 16–19.
In collaboration with UBC, this program has helped students shape their futures—and given families hope for life after high school.
Pathway to Trades: Opening Doors to Skilled Careers
The demand for skilled tradespeople is growing—especially in construction, hospitality, health, and tourism.
WISE teamed up with Kwantlen University to launch Pathway to Trades, a customized initiative that:
– Helps employers find and retain certified talent
– Opens doors for people with disabilities to enter industries previously out of reach
From Crisis to Resilience
The beginning of this year, the team was faced with some terrible news: an important part of the team had fallen ill and was not due to return for several months. With our director also out of the country, our already small and stretched-out team faced an incredible gap in the staff. Who would cover all the commitments, meetings, and extra tasks? We could not bear the idea of putting people’s jobs in danger, disrupting services, and fail in our commitment to WISE. In less than 30 minutes, the team got together, split up the work, volunteered to complete tasks, cared for each other and cared for our clients, without missing a beat, in a perfect example of leadership and resilience.