[Blindtlk] Fwd: Training Programs

[David Andrews]

>I have been asked to post the following:


Dave



>Hello,
>
>My name is Steve Cook and I work for the SC Commission for the
>Blind.  I
>would like to let you know about a wonderful opportunity for the
>blind.  We
>have an Alamo and National car rental training program here in
>South
>Carolina.  Alamo and National car rental has a call center located
>in South
>Carolina and in Utah.  Read the below information and please feel
>free to
>distribute it to the blind community in your area.  After you have
>read over
>this information, get back in touch with me if you have any
>questions.
>
>A NEW EMPLOYMENT FRONTIER IN EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE
>BLIND
>
>A REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT
>
>Technological advances and a changing economy forced the South
>Carolina
>Commission for the Blind to be creative and develop a different
>approach to
>training and placement for our blind consumers. We had successfully
>placed a
>number of blind people in Tele-communications with the Vanguard
>Rental
>Corporation, the owners of Alamo and National Car Rentals. These
>placements
>were prefaced with individual training and a lot of experimenting
>with
>assistive technology. How could we develop a training program in
>Tele-communications that trained groups of prospective employees,
>and where
>could we go to get the technical assistance to adapt
>tele-communications
>software to the assistive technology essential for our blind
>consumers? We
>concluded it could happen with a partnership with private
>industry.
>
>THE PARTNERSHIP
>
>Vanguard Rental Corporation was a willing partner because of their
>positive
>experiences with their blind employees. They brought to the
>partnership
>technical assistance, equipment, software and financial
>participation. With
>a contractual relationship, the private sector partner not only
>provides
>placement to everyone trained on their programs: but also allows
>training
>for other employers with adapted software. In addition to training
>for
>Vanguard Rental Corporation, training and placement programs are
>established
>with Drivers' Choice Insurance Company and Wells Fargo Mortgage
>Company.
>
>PREPARING FOR TRAINING
>
>The preparation for training begins with the VR Counselor
>pre-screening
>consumers who are potential trainees. Referrals to the program are
>then
>screened for communications skills and knowledge and use of
>assistive
>technology. Some employers prefer to interview candidates for
>training while
>other employers rely on the selections made by agency staff.
>
>TRAINING
>
>In a fast paced environment, the twelve weeks training program is
>presented
>in three phases-classroom training with the manuals of the company
>for which
>the trainee will be working, hands-on training with live computers
>and
>working with live calls in an intense work setting. Training is
>eight hours
>each day, Monday through Friday: and appropriate work habits such
>as limited
>lunch hour and limited break time is enforced. Trainees are
>evaluated
>throughout the twelve weeks, and remedial intervention is offered
>when
>trainees demonstrate skills deficits that can be addressed.
>
>ARRANGEMENTS
>
>For South Carolina residents, we provide rooms and meals at the
>Rehabilitation Center on campus. For out of state trainees, we
>provide
>assistance in locating off-campus housing, and meals are provided
>through
>the Rehabilitation Center. Transportation is provided to and from
>training
>for out of state trainees as well as transportation to and from the
>airport.
>Orientation and mobility are also available to all trainees.
>
>EMPLOYMENT! EMPLOYMENT! EMPLOYMENT!
>
>Employers commit to placement before trainees are accepted into the
>program.
>If a trainee does not show potential for successful completion, the
>training
>is terminated. Entry level salaries range from $24,000 to $26,000
>annually,
>and agency staff assists with relocation, orientation and mobility
>and
>technical assistance at time of entry into employment.
>
>NEED MORE INFORMATION?
>
>For additional information, contact Ed. Bible at (803) 898-8786.
>
>
>SOUTH CAROLINA COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND
>
>Dr. Nell C. Carney, Commissioner
>
>
>
>NEW HORIZONS IN TRAINING AND COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT
>
>Dr. Nell C. Carney, Commissioner
>South Carolina Commission for the Blind
>
>In 1999, the South Carolina General Assembly appropriated $200,000
>to the
>Commission for the Blind to expand an industrial training program
>for blind
>and severely visually impaired consumers of working age who had
>expressed an
>interest in working.  When the blueprints for the expansion arrived
>a year
>later complete with conveyer belts and work areas, we were
>confronted with
>making a decision about the kind of industries we should recruit as
>our
>partners in the expansion project.
>
>A quick analysis of the labor market in South Carolina indicated
>that the
>greatest numbers of jobs now and for the foreseeable future were in
>the area
>of Tele-communications-customer service representatives, rental
>and
>reservation specialists and sales.  With this information, the
>blueprints
>were sent back to the drawing board with instructions to design a
>Tele-communications center with state-of-the-art computers,
>telephone
>equipment and assistive technology for use by blind and severely
>visually
>impaired trainees.
>
>When the revised blueprints arrived, it was obvious that we would
>need
>technical assistance and financial support from a private sector
>partner to
>make a success of the training program.  We turned to Vanguard
>Rental
>Corporation who had hired a number of our job ready clients.
>Because they
>were familiar with our programs and had found the consumers we had
>trained
>to be excellent employees, Vanguard Rental Corporation eagerly
>joined as our
>partners providing both financial support and technical
>assistance.
>
>After one and one half years of hard, and sometimes frustrating,
>work, the
>Tele-communications Training Center was opened on our campus in
>Columbia, SC
>on September 18, 2001.  The center has the capacity to accommodate
>30
>trainees.  The overall training period is twelve weeks: six weeks
>in the
>training room and six weeks taking live calls in an intense work
>environment.
>
>Vanguard Rental Corporation has already committed to hiring all of
>the
>trainees who complete the training in the first year of the
>program.  Other
>private organizations where our consumers are employed have
>contacted the
>Commission to negotiate training programs.  In addition, we have
>had
>inquiries from other state rehabilitation programs about placing
>consumers
>in the training program.
>
>The success of the development of the training center is a sterling
>example
>of the progress that can be made when private industry and state
>government
>programs form a partnership in the interest of employment of
>individuals
>with disabilities and the social and economic good of the
>community.  The
>Training center is dedicated to the continuation of efforts between
>private
>industry and public programs that will create competitive
>employment
>opportunities for present and future generations of blind and
>visually
>impaired South Carolinians and have a positive economic and social
>impact on
>the community.
>On Tuesday, September 18th, 2001 at 10:30 AM, the South Carolina
>Commission
>for the Blind and Vanguard Rental Corporation held opening and
>dedication
>ceremonies for a Telecommunications training center for the blind
>and
>severely visually impaired individuals at the Ellen Beach Mack
>Rehabilitation Center.  In attendance, we had our Board of
>Commissioners, a
>member of the legislature, Voc Rehab, CAP, a few members of the
>Projects
>with Industries Advisory Board along with a number of individuals
>from
>Vanguard Rental Corporation.
>
>This revolutionary concept will unite private industry and state
>government
>to provide training and job placement services for our consumers.
>The
>outstanding performance of the client's previously placed with
>Vanguard
>Rental Corporation led to the initial contacts between Vanguard and
>our
>Employment and Training division, which culminated in the
>partnership that
>makes this center possible.  We were able to secure approval to
>make changes
>to a planned expansion of the Projects with Industries Program in
>the old
>pool area with a $200,000 appropriation from the General Assembly
>in 1999.
>These changes are a reflection of the ever-changing job market as
>well as
>the challenges our clients faced during training due to the need to
>learn
>how the assistive technology and the company's software work
>together in a
>fast paced classroom environment.  We have many call centers
>located across
>our state that utilize technology which lends itself well to
>adaptations for
>use by our consumers.  These types of positions provide excellent
>opportunities for further advancement.
>
>Following pre-screening by the VR Counselors, Communications, and
>Technical
>Services, consumers are recommended to the program.  The clients
>accepted
>into the call center will receive training in customer service
>skills along
>with the software applications provided by our partner companies
>taught from
>the perspective of the adaptive technology user.  Training will
>progress
>through three phases with a potential to serve up to thirty
>consumers at a
>time.  Following successful completion of the program, the consumer
>will be
>employed by a partnering company.
>
>After successful placement of our consumers, we can all share in
>the
>development of a new employment frontier made possible by a
>collaborative
>effort between private enterprise and state government.  Isn't it
>exciting
>to see the virtually limitless employment opportunities we can
>create by
>working as a team!
>Reprinted with the permission of the National Federation of the
>Blind of
>South Carolina from its August, 2001 edition of the Palmetto
>Blind.
>
>
>
>Training Center Aids Visually Impaired
>
>(Editor's Note:  The following appeared in the Wednesday, September
>19, 2001
>edition of The State Newspaper.  Congratulations to the Commission
>for the
>Blind for the establishment of this excellent Training Program.)
>
>
>An old indoor swimming pool at the South Carolina Commission for
>the Blind
>has been turned into a training facility that will help the
>visually
>impaired become part of the labor force.
>The Telecommunications Training Center, unveiled Tuesday morning,
>uses
>computers and a talking computer program that allows blind people
>to work in
>call centers.
>The new Center will play a vital role in the organization's mission
>to train
>people to be competitive in the marketplace, said Dr. Nelle
>Carney,
>Commissioner of the Commission.  It is also important to partner
>with
>industry to provide practical skills for blind people, Dr. Carney
>said.
>The Training Center is a public-private partnership.  Vanguard
>Rental Corp.,
>owner of Alamo and National Car Rental Companies helped provide
>equipment.
>Clients of the Commission will learn on computers answering real
>customer
>service and reservation calls from Vanguard, Park Seed in Greenwood
>and
>other companies.
>With the changing economy, the decision was made to focus less on
>manufacturing and more toward call center, said Ed Bible, Director
>of
>Employment and Training for the Commission.
>In the past, when blind people were trained for work, the
>expectations were
>low and the training was not the standard used in the workplace,
>Bible said.
>The call center was developed using Vanguard Rental Corp's
>guidelines, Bible
>said.
>The people training in this facility will have the computer skills
>they need
>before applying for the job, said Mike Ralston, Director of
>Training for
>Vanguard Rental Corp.
>Vanguard had already employed seven visually impaired people at two
>of its
>call centers, but the company trained the employees themselves,
>Ralston
>said.
>Employees from the Commission's Training Center could help fill the
>100 or
>more employees needed during peak season at Park Seed in Greenwood,
>said
>Dawn Gilbert, Human Resources Manager.
>Trainees at the Telecommunications Center will use a program called
>JAWS -
>Job Access with Speech - to hear what is on the computer screen,
>said David
>Bundy, technical coordinator and trainer who demonstrated the
>technology.
>Specially designed headsets will allow blind people to hear a
>customer
>calling in one ear and the actions of the computer in the other
>ear.
>
>Thanks,
>Steve Cook
>Telecommunications Instructor/Trainer
>SC Commission for the Blind
>P O Box 2467
>Columbia, SC 29202
>Web Site: http://www.sccb.state.sc.us
>Phone: (803) 898-8788
>Fax: (803) 898-8852
>E-Mail: stcook at sccb.sc.gov