New Horizons Un-Limited Inc.

Disability Press Releases: 2016

New Horizons Un-Limited

Commitment to Provide Opportunities for People with Disabilities to Participate
in Employment

For more information, contact:
New Horizons Un-Limited
811 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 937
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Phone: (414) 299-0124
Email: horizons@new-horizons.org

New Horizons Un-Limited - Commitment to Provide Opportunities for People with Disabilities to Participate in the Mainstream of American Life - Employment

We vision the guarantee that our communities’ citizens with disabilities have the same opportunities to participate in the mainstream of American life; to enjoy employment opportunities, have the opportunity to purchase goods and services and to participate in local and state programs and services.

Without this guarantee, citizens with disabilities are unable to participate and non-participation will not strengthen, but undermine our ability as a nation to prosper.

There are many things we could be doing, now, to ensure a bright future!

Employment is a challenge for people with disabilities in the U.S. From employers to employees, from instructors and rehabilitators to students, and from agencies to those grasping for an opportunity for employment; there are changes on the horizon.

Should we be looking at employment in a new way? We can learn from history by looking back at successful employment of people with disabilities from our past.

Many years ago, after each World War, wounded veterans who had become disabled were returning home and trying to re-enter the work force again. Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, saw the challenges these veterans would face for employment. He did not feel that he could turn them away. Returning soldiers and their families would need what he was building: cars. How would they be able to afford a car, if they could not work?

Can we look at employment of people with disabilities, in terms of this basic economic concept?

First Ford analyzed what could persons with disabilities do and what piece of his work load could match that ability. He set them to work and discovered that those with challenges were able to do certain parts of assembly work and they were more productive in their roles, infact as well as those without disability challenges.

We hear that employers are looking for people with experience. Through the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, candidates are working toward identifying those skills for which they excel and those they need education or training.

What can YOU do to assist people with disabilities to get the opportunity to gain job experience?

For the EMPLOYER we encourage you to:

• See our NHU page for Employers for resources on Best Practices, Hiring Employees with Disabilities, Incentives for Hiring.
• Analyze your company's needs in regards to tasks and skills? Are there tasks for which physical ability is not required? Do you require people with certain skill sets?
• Find out more about people with disabilities, whether it is through a veterans organization or the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). Learn what challenges individuals with disabilities in your community are facing. What strengths do these individuals have?
• Is there a way to make a match; and skill strengths tasks?
• Contact your local DVR and ask to work with an Employment Provider, write a job description, request candidates, interview, take on a Temporary Work Employee or two and possibly Offer some introductory training in exchange for the work they will perform for the next 3 months. In Wisconsin if the person has potential, hire them through the On the Job Training (OJT) in which you can hire for several months and pay only 50% of their wages. The OJT provides reimbursements to employers to help compensate for the costs associated with training and loss of production for newly hired employees.

For the potential EMPLOYEE with a disability, we encourage you to:

• See our NHU pages on Employement for resources on employment services, on-site work programs and much more.
• See our NHU guide to Prepare for Employment to learn all about how to begin to figure out what kind of job you want, how to write a resume, how working will affect your disability benefits, how to find jobs that will get you more experience and much more.
• Take an assessment of your strengths and skills.
• Write a resume focusing on your work experience, strengths and skills
• Review the type of work that would interest you the most. Remember fulfillment can be achieved in many different ways and at every stage of life.
• Do you have the skill set to perform the work that you would like to do or do you require more education or training?
• Contact your local DVR, sometimes this process takes time depending on the severity of your disability, so apply as soon as you can.
• The DVR employment provider will assist you to investigate companies for which you would like to work, find out if they hire people with disabilities and work to gain a position for you to have a hands on temporary work experience.

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