Belong
The Belong initiative will strengthen tourism's capacity to offer inclusive, diverse, equitable, accessible, leading (IDEAL) workplaces.
Belong: Inclusion in Action is a national video series celebrating inclusive hiring and workplace practices across Canada's tourism sector. Through powerful personal stories and real-world examples, the series showcases how embracing inclusion can transform teams, strengthen businesses, and create truly welcoming environments for all.
Belong is a three-year, pan-Canadian initiative generously funded by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) under the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities. As part of the initiative, Tourism HR Canada will undertake a suite of activities, including:
Accessible, Inclusive Employment Training
A suite of online, on-demand courses and facilitated workshop modules
Research, Surveys, Focus Groups
Exploring and sharing how disability impacts people in tourism workplaces.
Workplace Accessibility Clinic
One-on-one advisory services tailored to the specific needs of individual tourism employers.
Employer Disability Inclusion Toolkit
Resources dedicated to supporting tourism workplaces in becoming accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities.
National Workplace Accreditation Program
Acknowledging tourism businesses for their commitment to workplace disability inclusion by adhering to industry-validated standards.
We’re connecting tourism organizations, employers, service providers, and individuals with lived experiences to facilitate collaboration, explore best practices, and share resources.
Upcoming Events
Tourism HR Canada is pleased to be partnering with the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) to host Belong Café Circles at its upcoming Regional Roundtable Series of events.
The Belong Café Circle is an interactive session fostering networking, collaboration, and community-building among tourism businesses, associations, and disability employment service providers. Through discussions and lightning talks, this session will explore Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) in tourism workplaces and highlight resources to attract and retain talent from underrepresented workforce pools.
Sign up for updates, including opportunities to participate in Belong
The Belong project is a three-year pan-Canadian initiative funded by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to provide tourism employers and the wider sector with data, training, resources, and services to:
- Increase awareness of disability inclusion
- Enhance the understanding of the significant benefits of hiring, retaining, and promoting persons with disabilities
- Strengthen employers’ capacity to build inclusive, diverse, equitable, accessible, and leading workplaces
If you are interested in learning more about this program as we develop, please fill out the following contact information.