June 15, 2011
Conducting an Employer Needs Analysis
In-depth discussion of the Employer Needs Analysis, a service to employers that allows job developers to avoid the barriers of demand jobs by focusing on discrete areas of employer needs and benefits. The Needs Analysis is conducted either during job development negotiations on behalf of a specific job seeker or prior to job development as an aspect of an informational interview with prospective employers. This strategy has emerged as a defining aspect of customized employment in that the Needs Analysis serves as the basis for re-directing employers’ attention from competitive demand to specific need and benefit. In this way the unique contributions of the job seeker can be matched with the findings of the analysis. This concept is of particular importance in that when job seeker contributions are matched to employer need and benefit the role of the job coach in job site support is clarified and focused in a way not possible in demand jobs. It is likely that the amount of job coaching can be reduced using this concept, as supports can be directed to tasks that have been negotiated to match the needs of the supported employee. Southeast TACE is featuring customized employment strategies, including the Employer Needs Analysis, as a central focus of its training and technical assistance in an effort to assure that job seekers with the most significant disabilities will be effectively served by state rehabilitations agencies and their local provider partners.
Working Together to Make Work Pay
Are you concerned about the connection between low wages and supported employment? Why after thirty years of advocating for employment first policies are individuals with disabilities in supported employment still expected to not be part of the American economic dream? This discussion covers ’employment for all’ policies and the importance of expanding the conversation to ‘living wages for all.’ The presentation provides an overview and discussion of:
- Policies and rhetoric that impede economic stability for individuals with disabilities;
- Incorporating economic stability into career planning (i.e. how to talk about money with individuals);
- The opportunities that can be paired with supported employment services for all people with disabilities to build a road map out of poverty;
- A pilot project that TACE Southeast is implementing to include asset building and economic stability strategies in vocational rehabilitation planning and supported employment services.