Employment and Training

For most of us, work is a very important component of our daily lives.  Performing a job and earning a paycheck adds to our feeling of self-worth and increases our ability to be independent.  Sooner or later, we must all decide what role work plays in our lives and what our interests are when we decide to start “earning a living."

Hopefully, we have been given choices and can exercise our preferences when it comes to finding a job.  Highline Corporation seeks to provide that same opportunity to individuals with disabilities. Our goal is to help them explore and enhance those choices. 

These choices include both community-based and facility-based employment and training.  In the course of a lifetime, it is not unusual for employees to change from facility work to community work and back again. Similarly, it is possible for employees with disabilities to be engaged in facility and community work at the same time. 

Job Placement:
Highline works with people with disabilities through the Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, surrounding county Human Services departments, and other various agencies in an effort to match participants with jobs in their communities that allow them to work in the least restrictive environment while allowing them to capitalize on their employment strengths. 

A placement specialist works with participants to develop a vocational plan detailing vocational goals, job search responsibilities, and expected timelines for performance.  Effective resumes and job applications are developed, and interview skills are practiced.  The placement specialist is also a job developer, working with both the employer and the participant to learn more about job requirements and establish the best possible job match.

After a person has been hired and is regularly performing the job, ongoing communications and follow-up contacts are made with both the employer and employees to support and ensure continued success of the placement. 

Supported Employment:
Some individuals with disabilities need additional assistance in obtaining and retaining a job.  Supported employment involves the addition of a short-term or long-term job coach to the employment process.  The job coach provides intensive role modeling, counseling, and job shadowing with the employee. 

This intensive approach to employment significantly raises the long-term job retention rate for employees with severe disabilities.

Participants in supported employment go through all of the same processes of job seeking that individuals in our standard job placement program go through.  Our job specialist works with the potential employee and employers to match the interests and skills of the individual with the nature and requirements of the job. 

 

Facility Employment:
Highline provides long-term employment opportunities for people with unique and/or severe disabilities.  Our employees with disabilities recognize the importance of work in their lives. They recognize the value of both earning a living and how work can enhance the quality of their lives.  With facility-based employment, work is combined with guidance, counseling, and skill training to develop each person’s unique abilities. 

To provide a supportive and exciting work environment for this special population, Highline subcontracts with companies throughout the country as well as performing manufacturing of its own.  These jobs provide extensive choices for both employment and training purposes. Some examples of these tasks are: assembly, packaging, woodworking, industrial sewing, order fulfillment, sorting and inspection, bulk mailings, labeling, document shredding, shrink wrapping, collating, grounds maintenance, and janitorial services. 

Highline also owns and operates Q-RAX Manufacturing, a producer of high quality accessories for the pool and billiards industry.  (See link to this company)

This variety of jobs and tasks provides valuable vocational options for our each and everyone of our employee’s interests and ability levels. It also allows additional flexibility for training and career exploration. 

Many of the participants in facility employment have experienced difficulty in finding or keeping a job in the community, but working at Highline encourages individuals to establish goals, develop skills, and gain the confidence needed to perhaps move on to community employment. 

 

Vocational Evaluation:
Highline uses a 10-day situational assessment to provide an in-depth assessment of our client’s unique vocational capacities.  During the evaluation period, the evaluee is exposed to and performes several different job tasks in a various production settings. Performance and behavioral observations are made by the evaluator and production staff in each of these departments. This information is collected, reviewed, and discussed.

Among the behaviors and characteristics evaluated are tool usage, gross motor and coordination skills, verbal skills, hygiene and grooming, ability to follow verbal and written instructions, ability to accept criticism and supervision, dependability, social behavior, attendance and punctuality, attention to detail, perseverance, initiative, safety awareness, learning style, communication skill, teamwork and cooperation, ability to perform multi-step tasks, ability to count and measure, and emotional maturity.

At the end of the evaluation period, the observed vocational assets and limitations are discussed with the participant and the referring agency. Recommendations for remediation, education, and job placement are developed and become part of the final evaluation report.