Project Description:
This application works in collaboration with two major centers within the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI): a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on State Systems and Employment, and the National Center on Workforce and Disability (NCWD). It also utilizes the resources of the Institute, a University Center of Excellence in Disability (UCED), and the University of Massachusetts/Boston. The project will provide training for academic certificate as well as for degree credit for staff in New England public vocational rehabilitation, community rehabilitation programs and related organizations addressing issues of knowledge and skill acquisition in job development/ marketing professionals, which will lead to improved employment outcomes for persons with disabilities. This program will aggressively recruit professionals representing diverse racial and cultural groups and those with disabilities.
Using a continuing education approach, flexible credit and non credit options, distance learning, career development strategies in vocational rehabilitation, variable schedules for instruction and the use of non traditional and regionally based instructional settings, the project offers a training that will improve job development/ marketing skills for staff in public and private community rehabilitation programs within the New England region. These courses will be offered both for credit and non-credit status, through the Division of Continuing Education. The core competencies developed within this curriculum will reflect those the Institute has and continues to identify through years of research and training efforts funded by NIDRR, RSA, DOL, and other sources. Graduates of the yearlong program receive a certificate in Job Development/ Marketing from the University of Massachusetts/Boston and graduate credit.
This program, offered through the University of Massachusetts/Boston (Office of Continuing Education and Graduate College of Education), will ultimately bring together the training resources of the University as well as the public vocational rehabilitation, adult service system, and the community rehabilitation providers throughout the New England region to address the training needs of rehabilitation professionals. The major goals of the project include:
*establishing an in-service and pre-service training curriculum in job development/marketing using the knowledge gleaned from the RRTC Center on State Employment Systems, National Center on Workforce and Disability and other ICI initiatives addressing "Best Practices in Job Placement" which is developed within the framework of a multiple competency, menu-driven, outcome and performance focused approach
* offering a series of flexible and diverse training programs for students throughout New England, including didactic training, distance learning, mentorship experiences and field based work in the area of job development/ marketing for persons with disabilities;
* expanding upon a formal curriculum that is approved for credit at multiple levels;
* developing a message board for job placement professionals and community agencies employing such professionals addressing the core staff competencies; and
* evaluating the impact of the training by assessing the graduates and their supervisors on changes in skill levels, overall satisfaction with the program, and outcomes achieved .
The project will develop instructional curricula and approaches to benefit staff currently working in public vocational rehabilitation, community rehabilitation programs, and related programs throughout the region, and those aspiring to fill such positions as they advance their rehabilitation careers.
Keyword(s):
job development, marketing, training, continuing education, employment
