Narrative: d. 2. O. vii.

DRS will maintain regular communication with WorkForce WV to stay abreast of trends in employment, including changes in education and training requirements. This will be accomplished through regular meetings of the workforce development system (WDS), written communications, teleconferences, and other media, as appropriate. DRS, particularly through its employment specialists, will also stay informed of emerging careers and occupations via WorkForce WV’s Labor Market Information website. DRS employment specialists continuously collect employment information from their business contacts. This information is shared within the WDS.

Use of DRS Employment Specialists

DRS will continue to use its employment specialists to gather information regarding employers at the local level, including information regarding job placements for individuals with disabilities and regarding current and expected employer needs.

DRS has an in–house Employer Services Section that specializes in providing employers with disability–related information, services, and pre–screened job seekers. The DRS Employer Services Section has 12 employment specialists that cover all 55 counties in West Virginia. DRS’ team of employment specialists provide business owners and employers with critical business options and assistance in staffing, employee retention strategies, education on disability–related issues, job accommodations, and information about financial incentives for employers who hire individuals with disabilities.

Direct contact with employers is a key strategy to identify competitive integrated employment and career exploration opportunities for vocational rehabilitation (VR) consumers, including students with disabilities. Employment specialists therefore contact employers directly to identify current and future job openings. To facilitate this, DRS utilizes labor market information provided by WorkForce WV to identify the top employers in each county; contact is always made with the top ten employers in each county. When meeting with employers, employment specialists provide valuable information, including the DRS Employer Resource Guide. The resource guide provides the following information:

–Staffing services

–Training programs and incentives for hiring people with disabilities

–Financial incentives

–Accessibility assessments

–Accommodating employees with disabilities

–Basic disability etiquette

–Attitudinal barriers

–Americans with Disabilities Act

–Locating a DRS office

–Where to find additional resources

The Employer Services Section maintains a database of each DRS–employer interaction with VR employment specialists. The information collected includes the business name, contact person, and current job openings by occupation. If needed, a referral to the DRS Rehabilitation Technology Unit is made to address workplace accommodations. This list is distributed to field staff to potentially match a job–ready VR consumer with a current job opening. Through positive working relationships, 19 employers, including some of the largest in the state, now send job postings directly to DRS’ Employer Services Section.

The Employer Services Section also works with employers to better serve transitioning youth with disabilities, including providing career exploration opportunities for students with disabilities. In 2015, DRS debuted the Positive Outcomes within Education and Rehabilitation (POWER) program. POWER is a job shadowing program that offers transitioning students, who may be having a difficult time choosing a career path, the opportunity to experience an occupation by spending time with a professional working in the students’ vocational goal/career field of interest. The POWER program allows the student the opportunity to experience an occupation prior to committing to training. It guides the student to take a serious, realistic look at the occupation, allowing the student to make a more informed choice.