January 9, 2015

by: Emily Hastings

Organizational Employment Training & Transition to Community Employment

UCP of Greater Cleveland is in the process of developing a curriculum for our Organizational Employment** (OE) clients that will help them identify a path to employment. Right now UCP’s main focus is giving our staff the tools they will need to help the clients make the appropriate transition. Once the staff are trained, they will do assessments and help teach classes that will further the clients’ productivity, independence and inclusion in the community.

First, the staff will evaluate the OE clients using an Employment First Job Readiness Assessment to see if their soft and hard job skills meet the standards for Community Employment. Then the clients will start a series of classes. Each class meets once a week and has about six to eight clients.

The first set of classes is a career exploration course that lasts six weeks. The main objective of this course it to see what the clients are interested in and to help identify possible career paths. The clients will look through a book that meets Employment First guidelines which is filled with pictures of different jobs, and they will circle the jobs that interest them. Then, staff score the assessments to see which jobs the clients circled most often. Once our staff identify a possible career path, they go through the job with the client to see if he or she can acquire the soft and hard jobs skills necessary for that specific career.

The next course the clients complete is a four week “Skills to Pay the Bills” session. These classes will focus on developing the necessary soft skills for employment such as how to interview, how to work with a team and how to develop proper work etiquette.

Lastly, the clients will take a four week financial management class that includes learning how to balance their personal budget, paying for transportation and filing their taxes.

At the end of this process, it will be determined whether the client is ready to move on to Community Employment, or if they need more time in OE to develop the necessary job skills before they are reassessed.

**UCP of Greater Cleveland’s Organizational Employment Program is designed to foster personal financial independence for adults with moderate to severe disabilities. Individuals are encouraged to accept vocational and social challenges within an integrated setting with the least restrictions possible. UCP’s Wolstein Center houses an on-site workshop and computer lab to offer individuals the opportunity to learn and practice work skills with necessary supports.

For more information about the OE Training program, please contact our Activities and Training Manager, Amy Vedova, at (216) 791-8362 ext. 1244 or email avedova@ucpcleveland.org. Or visit our website at https://www.ucpcleveland.org/services-for-adults/organizational-employment.

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