VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

We assist  people with disabilities obtain competitive employment in an integrated setting.

  • Career counseling and decision making based on your interests, abilities, and goals

  • Job readiness skills training leading to credentials to meet local labor market demands 

  • Job search and job placement services 

  • Job coaching and supported employment service

Pre-Employment Services

 

ERS engages in the following pre-employment services:

 

Job Exploring : Intended to foster motivation, consideration of opportunities and informed decision-making.  This includes:

  • Career Awareness : Gaining knowledge of career paths, job opportunities, skills and qualifications  necessary to be successful in these positions. 

  •  Informational Interviews: which  Informal conversation with someone working in a career area/job that interests the individual, who will give him/her  information and advice.

  • Career Speakers provide an overview of a specific job or career area.

  • Career (Vocational) Assessment:  Help for individuals to identify and better articulate their unique interests. It also provides individuals with the opportunity to discover the tasks, experience, education and training that are needed for a career they want to pursue.

  •  Job Clubs : Assists individuals with a job hunt and gives job search support and advice.

  •  Job Shadowing :  Working with an employee on the field so that the individual  can   learn new aspects related to the job, organization, certain behaviors or competencies.

  •  Volunteering: Donating  time or efforts for a cause or organization without being paid

  • Workplace Tours/ Field Trips: A group excursion for the purpose of first-hand observation to specific work sites. Students learn about the business, meet employees, ask questions and observe work in progress.

 

Work-Based Learning Experiences (WBL):  Using workplace or real work to provide individuals  with the knowledge and skills that will help them connect school experiences to real-life work activities and future career opportunities. This includes:

  • Apprenticeships:  Individuals combine classroom and work place experience  in order to be able to explore essential workplace skills and  strengthen their academic and technical skills.

  • Career Mentorship:  Mentors provide guidance and advice to the  youth

  •  Career Related Competitions:  Work-based learning activities that require students to demonstrate mastery of career-related skills through presentations or competitions that are judged by professionals.

  •  Internships (Paid or Unpaid): A temporary position which gives the individual an opportunity to develop specific job related skills before you are qualified for an actual job.

 

Career counseling: Choosing a career requires  exploration and planning. It is important that the individual  connect the present to the future. This includes gaining an awareness of the wide range of career pathway options and labor market realities and projections.

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Workplace Readiness Training To Develop Social Skills and Independent Living: ERS help individuals develop skills that employers seek from most employees. These abilities help individuals  learn how to interact with supervisors and co-workers e.g.  communication, body language, respect, conflict resolution, good manners etc.

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Instruction in self-advocacy: Promoting  individual's ability to effectively communicate, convey, negotiate or assert his/her own interests and/or desires.

Employment Services

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ERS work with employers to identify various positions in their business that can be modified to create suitable job opportunities for each individual. We engage in the following employment services:

 

Job Development:  Job readiness classes, internet job searches, interview skill building, completing job applications, updating/ resume  writing, cover letter and thank you letter writing, effective post interview follow-up methods.

 

Job Coaching and Placement: Once individual accepts employment, job coach assists individual in orientation and training. The job coach, the employer and the individual work on job retention skill-building activities.  Interventions that will  raise the customer’s performance level to meet expectations  on the job will be identified and implemented