[nfb-talk] Needing a Job

[kaye zimpher]

Hey, has the below mentioned program found a new redcross trainer yet?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Cook" <STCook at sccb.sc.gov>
To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 12:14 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Needing a Job


>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.
>
>
>
> For more information on our Alamo/National car rental training program, 
> contact me at the below information.
> Steve Cook, Telecommunications Instructor/Trainer
> SC Commission for the Blind
> Phone: (803) 898-8788
> Fax: (803) 898-8852
> E-Mail: stcook at sccb.sc.gov
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Benjamin Wright
> Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 11:57 AM
> To: nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfb-talk] Needing a Job
>
> Hello all. My name is Benjamin Wright, a new member to the NFB. I am
> currently working in an Americorps program called City Year. I will be
> completing this program on Friday June 22, 2007 and after that, I will be
> needing a new job, a permanent job. I was wondering if there was anyone 
> who
> can help me with this endeavor. I am willing to relocate if needed. I am
> attaching my resume to this Email. It has all of my contact information.
>
> Benjamin Wright
>
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