[nfb-talk] Needing a Job

[Steve Cook]

Yes, I am the Red Cross trainer.


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 kaye zimpher
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 10:43 PM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Needing a Job

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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