The certificates you choose will depend on the areas in which you wish to build expertise or to review and update skills and knowledge. You may wish to:
- Pair CRTWCR with CSWRTW to build foundational RTW skills with strong communication abilities.
- Pair CDMPAE with CDMLPE to blend program administration with legal/policy expertise.
- Combine CRTWCR with CSWRTW with CMLPE for a strong foundation in RTW and awareness of the legislative and regulatory challenges that can arise in RTW planning and implementation.
- Combine CRTWCR → CSWRTW → CDMPAE to obtain a well-rounded body of skills and knowledge moving from frontline skills to people management and then to program leadership.
Further suggestions for sequence:
- Students should start with CRTWCR for a strong practical RTW foundation, pairing it with CSWRTW to build stakeholder and communication skills, or with CDMLPE if legal and compliance knowledge is a priority. For those aiming at leadership, the strongest combination is CDMPAE + CDMLPE, blending program administration with legal/policy expertise.
- A well-rounded 3-certificate sequence is CRTWCR → CSWRTW → CDMPAE, moving from frontline skills to people management and then to program leadership. Managers who need to step into oversight roles quickly might prefer CRTWCR → CDMPAE → CDMLPE.
- If your goal is to complete all four, the most logical progression is CRTWCR → CSWRTW → CDMLPE → CDMPAE, ensuring you build practical, interpersonal, legal, and strategic capabilities in a natural order that maximizes both job readiness and career advancement.
Our suggestion is if you’re new to disability management / return-to-work and want the most broadly useful, practical start — begin with Certificate in Return-to-Work Coordination and Rehabilitation (CRTWCR). It gives core, hands-on skills you’ll use immediately and helps you decide which specialization to take next. You can use the following questions to help you consider where to start:
- Do I need hands-on RTW skills to do my job? → Yes: CRTWCR.
- Is my role about bringing people together, identifying needs and negotiating return plans? → Yes: CSWRTW.
- Do I advise on policy, or handle claims, or need to reduce legal risk? → Yes: CDMLPE.
- Do I need to be aware of legislation and regulation in carrying out disability management or return to work responsibilities or am I involved in writing policies that might have a foundation in legislation and regulation? → Yes: CDMLPE.
- Am I (or will I be) responsible for designing, improving, measuring, or reporting on a DM program? → Yes: CDMPAE.
Evaluation of those will still be done at the module level, and the limit on exemptions/PLAR credit accepted will be two modules per certificate. (The PLAR/exemption limit for the 25-module program was six modules).
As part of ongoing attention to our offerings, wherever we see a grouping of courses that provide a valuable and coherent learning experience to support a professional in their development, those courses may be candidates for consideration as a unique credential.
It’s not expected in the near term, but we’re always reviewing our curriculum for relevance and effectiveness, and what will support students best. You can expect ongoing improvement and innovation in our programming.
Anyone who registered for their first modules on or before August 31, 2025, has the following options:
- Continue towards the existing 25-module DMP certificate if they intend to complete the modules by June 30, 2026.
- Switch to seek progress towards the new certificates. If a change in registration to different module(s) is desired to facilitate completion of one or more of the new certificates, they will be able to transfer to other module(s) of the same cost.
- Withdraw from the program and request a refund for any registrations for upcoming modules.
Anyone who registers in their first modules after September 1, 2025, will only be eligible for the new certificates.
We will support the transfer to a different module.
Though it won’t be a stand-alone program, we will recognize the completion of all four certificates and we’re still working on what that will look like.
We don’t expect any of the supporting processes to change. The current approach allows you to access and pay fees for any course that is offered (although a few have the prerequisites) and to opt for a certificate upon completion if the requisite modules.
No. If you have completed the Disability Management Practitioner Certificate modules before August 31, 2025, you have or will shortly receive that certificate. You will have covered the same topics, skills and knowledge provided through the four new certificates, so students who have already completed the 25-module program cannot transition to the new certificates.
We will give ongoing students the option to choose whether (a) they wish to receive the new certificates [including certificates that consist of modules they have already completed] or (b) they wish to obtain one certificate for the current disability management program if they are able to complete the 25 modules within a specified period (see below).
Students will be given until September 30th to make the choice of whether they wish to work towards any of the four new certificates or continue on with the existing DMPC certificate. Students must choose one of these two pathways.
Students who choose (b), seeking to obtain the current DMPC for completion of the 25-modules, will have until June 30, 2026, to complete all 25 modules in order to receive a Certificate of Completion in Disability Management Practitioner Certificate Program, provided that the student was enrolled into one or more of the 25 modules on or before August 31, 2025. Students who wish to receive the DMP certificate but are unable to complete all 25 modules by the deadline due to unforeseen circumstances must contact Continuing Education Department. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.
We’ll continue to support this. We’re working with the Academic programs to confirm how the new certificates will map to BDM specific courses; it will be similar to the current approach, but students will likely be able to identify transfer credits earlier, since the certificates are shorter.
Understanding the journey toward reconciliation is essential for building respectful, inclusive
workplaces. There have been considerable shifts in the relationship between the Canadian
Government and First Nations peoples that have had an impact on the way that all citizens
participate in our society. During the past century, many interventions have hindered First
Nations’ ability to benefit from what the country, for which they were the founding people, has
to offer.
This course explores the historical context of the First Nations in Canada and clarifies
the need for reconciliation, and the steps we can take toward meaningful change.
This course is intended to enhance the understanding of those working alongside First Nations
colleagues, including those involved in workplace health programs.
$250
This final course in the Certificate in Disability Management from a Human Resources Management Perspective brings the skills and knowledge acquired in the initial seven modules together and focusses on the interplay between human resources management and disability management. Participants will consider:
- The business case for disability management, including the legal, economic, and social reasons for effective disability management
- HRM practices that promote employee health, accommodation practices, and inclusivity, and prevent either disability or disability severity
- The relationship between disability management and human resources in the areas of recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, and compensation and benefits.
$250.00
This course will focus on the role of human resources and disability management professionals in retaining workers with mental health challenges and in optimizing worker capacity in a time of technological, economic, and evolving pandemic-related change. Both a systematic process for the retention and reintegration of workers experiencing negative mental health conditions and the policies, procedures, and processes designed to create a psychologically safe work environment will be explored. Issues arising from disclosure and stigma as well as barriers and facilitators to return to work will be examined. The ongoing development of evidence-based tools to enhance practice decision-making will be considered. The intent is to assist HRM professionals in working with stakeholders to support overall workplace health and a steady recovery for the workers with disabilities with a mental health component.
(If you have previously completed DMCS 780 – Strategies to Retain Workers Experiencing Mental Health Challenges within the last three years, you may be eligible for an exemption that can be used as part of the HR certificate upon presentation of an original transcript.)
$250.00
Disability management and human resource professionals must build and maintain relationships with managers, supervisors, labour representatives, workers with disabilities, treatment providers and others. This course provides a foundation for effective communication with stakeholders, needed to coordinate disability management interventions and services at a worksite.
Course participants will consider how context and environment influence communication and will review interpersonal communication skills that, when put together, form the basis of effective interviewing and group facilitation. These skills include listening, questioning, paraphrasing and summarizing, and non-verbal communication. During the week of study activity, these skills will be applied from the perspective of return-to-work coordination.
(If you have previously completed DMCCG – Communication and Interviewing Skills within the last three years, you may be eligible for an exemption that can be used as part of the HR certificate upon presentation of an original transcript.)
$250.00
Human resources practitioners have commonly been involved in change management processes when economic factors and technological advances have impacted areas such as worker recruitment and retention. Increasingly, workplace health programs such as disability management, occupational health and safety, and health and wellness promotion that support the capacity of employees to make a contribution in the workplace are receiving attention. The ability to manage change in these areas has become more important.
This course will explore how theories of change are applied in the workplace, both in terms of organizational change and personal change, with a specific focus on disability management. The topics covered include the steps involved in most change management models, strategies for overcoming resistance to change and other barriers to change, the role of change agents, effective communication, and processes for evaluating whether a change was successful.
(If you have previously completed DMCCS – Managing Change within the last three years, you may be eligible for an exemption that can be used as part of the HR certificate upon presentation of an original transcript.)
$250.00
Many workplace policies have a foundation in legislation and regulation including occupational health and safety requirements, minimum standards of employment, designated work holidays, equity, accessibility, and work retention and reintegration after injury or illness. Human resources managers draw on their knowledge of federal and provincial laws, and in some cases. international obligations in developing policies and procedures.
This course provides an overview of legislation that impacts the workplace response to disability and reviews relevant legislation and how it is applied, including the duty to accommodate workers with disabilities. Also addressed is the HR role in communicating legal obligations to workers, supervisors, unions, and other stakeholders; and generally contributing to organizational practices that ensure the workplace is in compliance with legislation. Frequently
HR practitioners are involved in determining the requisite components of an accommodation when individual workers need a plan for returning to work.
(If you have previously completed DMCCI – Legislation and Disability Management within the last three years, you may be eligible for an exemption that can be used as part of the HR certificate upon presentation of an original transcript.)
$250.00
Human resources management, which includes a role in the workplace health areas of disability management, occupational health and safety, and health promotion, has a more strategic approach today in focussing on the needs and priorities of the organization. This shift demands that HR managers understand the broader business and organizational contexts of employment and work activity, and collaboratively devise solutions to address related challenges. Critical to this is the capacity for effective decision-making rooted in credible evidence.
This course outlines the process of evidence-based decision-making (EBDM) and its merits, particularly within the context of disability. Participants will work through a straightforward model for implementing EBDM. The course includes strategies to identify both internal and external data sources that provide credible evidence, and in some cases to develop reliable data when a novel or unexpected problem arises. Students will find out how to recognize and surmount common barriers to EBDM within an organization.
$250.00
Job analyses are fundamental to human resources management, and they inform most other HR practices. They are also critical for return to work or disability management processes. A comprehensive job analysis provides insight into the tasks and behaviors that comprise a job; the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOs) required for the job; performance standards, as well as the physical, cognitive and psychosocial demands of the job. A completed job analysis can be an effective tool to assist with injury prevention strategies, return-to-work planning and job accommodation.
This course covers the creation and interpretation of job analyses and describes how job analyses can be used not only in traditional HR responsibilities such as recruitment, training, and compensation but can also make a contribution to maintaining a healthy and productive workforce.
(If you have previously completed DMCCE – Job Analysis within the last three years, you may be eligible for an exemption that can be used as part of the HR certificate upon presentation of an original transcript.)
$250.00
