The Employment Services Certificate Series is offered by the TACE programs across the country.  The certificate and each individual workshop is available to staff, managers, VR counselors and others who believe they could benefit from training focused on developing and updating skills to facilitate employment opportunities for persons experiencing difficulty identifying, securing and maintaining employment.  The ESC program has been updated to include many more tools and subjects than previously provided.  See descriptions of the courses offered below.   

Session 1: Tool for Developing Successful Placements

            This training covers topics regarding physical / social / mental aspects of work based on department of labor definitions, employer assessments including job description, ecological and cultural employer characteristics, and approaches to societal problems with disabled workers.  It gives participants tools to asses customers and serve them and to develop realistic outcomes and goals with these customers.

Session 2: Positive Employment Outcomes via Partnership Development

            This training entails building and maintaining relationships during consumer assessment, while helping the consumer with their own self determination and situational assessment.  As well, this course includes tools to help build effective marketing strategies by networking, assessing needs and concerns of employers, and considering job development as a lifestyle, and finally, helps train to ensure positive, on-going relationships and partnerships for both the consumer and employer.

Session 3: Developing Meaningful Employer Relationships – Positive Placements

            This course addresses customer service for the rehab counselor, including working under pressure, communication skills, problem solving and relationship maintenance.  As well, the course gives techniques for increasing job development tools and skills, and networking.  The training will also cover social security information, employer benefits information and different important legislation information for case management, etc.

Session 4: Transition – Work After High School

            The curriculum in this course offers assessment and career planning, including transition, IEP process, gauging student’s employability, and guided exploration.  It also encompasses preparing students for employment with skill building, and vocational assessments to help build a student employability portfolio.

Session 5: Mental Health and Co-Occurring Disabilities in Employment

            This course will include an overview of psychiatric disabilities, co-occurring disorder and ex-offenders, and influence of culture and psychiatric disabilities.  It also addresses common attitudinal barriers such as myths and stereotypes, and will help counselors to work with these groups to create positive outcomes and build retention with best practices and accommodations.

Session 6: Customized Employment and Where Do We Go from Here?

            This session includes topics such as the paradigm shift, competitive employment, supported employment and customized employment, matching consumers and employers and discovery process, needs analysis and informational interviews.  As well, the course will help strengthen skills for adaptive technology, assistive technology and the resources that are available to the rehabilitation counselors and their consumers.