Students for hire: Montreal school prepares neurodivergent students for the workforce with real-world experience

Inside of the Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Centre in the Montreal suburb of Cote Saint-Luc, you'll find a cafe serving up more than coffee and sandwiches.

It's giving students like Zach Kruse a chance to learn valuable skills outside of the classroom.

"I've done serving coffee and baked goods, making sandwiches: spicy tuna or bagels and lox," 19-year-old Zach Kruse told CTV National News. "I've also done washing dishes and the cash register."

The Summit School, an English-language school in Montreal for special needs students, opened the cafe last year, with the goal of better preparing its neurodivergent students to enter the workforce.

The school also has a floral program, a leather work studio and a copy centre, where young people can gain valuable work experience.

"I believe in myself that I can succeed for when it comes to finding a new job," Gabriel Mefsoutis, who is graduating next month, told CTV National News.

But people with disabilities often face discrimination.

According to Inclusion Canada, there are approximately 500,000 working age individuals with an intellectual disability in Canada, but only 25 per cent are employed.

And at just 14.3 per cent, adults with autism have the lowest employment rate in Canada.

"It's not equal opportunity and that's why our businesses need to shift their paradigm, and they need to start looking at their spaces differently. and thinking about how can we be more inclusive," said Summit School Chef instructor J.J. Heffring, a trained chef joined the school eight years ago.

In Heffring's kitchen, students are learning much more than cooking and baking. There is also teamwork and problem solving: assets in any field.

"My dream is to work in a real restaurant," said 20-year-old Noah Dayan-Mandelker, adding he would love to bake for customers.

He is part of a new generation of workers eager to show off their talents to businesses willing to give them a chance.