Innovative Guided Rehabilitation Employer Engagement Training (iGREET) Course Description

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iGREET logo

 

The Innovative Guided Rehabilitation Employer Engagement Training (iGREET) created by the Program on Innovative Rehabilitation Training on Employer Engagement (PIRTEE), offers Employer Engagement training opportunities to VR professionals engaged in supporting business customers. Through this training, participants can improve agency services to businesses and enhance employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities served by the VR system. Note: While focusing on VR professionals, the iGREET training is applicable to any agency providing employment services to individuals with disabilities.

 

The course is comprised of four modules, each containing 3-4 lessons. We offer the iGREET course in two formats:

 

Online, self-paced course: Participants who register have the option to complete individual modules or the entire course within a 3-month period. We offer CRCs for each module and we will issue a certificate of completion to those who complete the entire course.

Virtual, instructor-facilitated course: The virtual training uses the same curriculum but takes place on Zoom and is delivered classroom style. This format is great for you if you prefer to interact with your fellow participants and the trainers. Stay tuned for next available training. 

To access the training schedule and register for upcoming sessions click here.

 

Descriptions of each module is provided below:   

 

Module 1

Module 1: Foundations of Employer Engagement

Lesson 1Understanding the Expectations of WIOA and The Dual-Customer Approach

Highlights: 

  • Describe the philosophical and legislative evolution of employer engagement within the Vocational Rehabilitation agency, leading to opportunities established within WIOA

  • Includes the opportunities available for the Vocational Rehabilitation agency to collaborate as an invaluable workforce and economic development partner

  • Discuss how employer engagement (and subsequent economic development) activities better position the agency to facilitate employment for people with disabilities

 

Lesson 2- Ethical Considerations for Effective Employer Engagement

Highlights: 

  • Effective employment engagement incorporates the professional code of ethics, including relationship boundaries, confidentiality, promoting equity, etc.

  • Incorporating the essential elements of ethics in employer engagement activities

  • Review and practice utilizing an ethical decision-making model when providing employer engagement services.

 

Lesson 3- Language and Communication for Effective Employer Engagement

Highlights: 

  • Recognizing and effectively utilizing the power of language within employer engagement activities, but also with internal-agency communication and with external partners.

  • Understanding the elements of trust, and how those are integrated into effective communication

  • Recognizing and understanding additional language and communication considerations, including cultural competence and disability language and etiquette

  • Recognizing and understanding the power and necessity of business-friendly language.

 

Lesson 4- Preparing for, Coordinating, and Initiating Employer Engagement Activities

Highlights: 

  • Preliminary research before employer contacts: understanding/finding labor market information; employer mapping

  • Professionalism in employer engagement: timing, language, listening, impressions

  • Initiating employer engagement: elevator pitch, identifying needs, answering questions and concerns.

Module 2

Module 2: Developing and Maximizing Partnerships for Employer Engagement

Lesson 1- Tapping Into Internal Expertise And Connections

Highlights: 

  • Understanding the agency’s employer engagement vision, as well as the process for sharing internal information, contacts, and responsibilities

  • Identify internal data collection methods and sharing

  • Explore internal networking, teams (including NET connection), communication strategies, and areas of expertise.

 

Lesson 2- Building an Employer Engagement Portfolio

Highlights: 

  • Providing services to employers includes having a portfolio of services and areas of expertise (consultation) provided by the agency.

  • Identify agency-led training and consultation services to be offered, as well as areas that the agency could continue to grow.

  • Identify areas of knowledge that employer engagement staff can become knowledgeable, including employment laws and policies, resources, etc.

  • Identify agency messaging (marketing) opportunities, as well as areas of messaging expansion (website, publications, partner messaging, NET PSA, etc.)

 

Lesson 3- Cultivating External Partners

Highlights: 

  • Identify the variety of external partnerships, including workforce system partners, employer outreach and advocacy organizations, and business organizations that may support employer services.

  • Cultivate partnerships that fit the variety of opportunities available within economic development activities

  • Recognizing the steps to developing partnerships and how to move along the partnership continuum.  

 

Lesson 4- Leveraging Partnerships

Highlights: 

  • Identify opportunities to leverage and adapt partnerships to meet and fulfill employer and community goals (includes AJCs, Community Colleges, Community Rehabilitation Providers, trade associations, cultural entities, etc.)

  • In leveraging those partnerships, the learner will identify, organize, and promote the expertise and services provided by the various partner agencies for job fairs, work-based learning, employer recognition, sector partnerships, etc.

  • Identify characteristics of effective partnerships as strategies to repair relationships, if needed

Module 3

Module 3: Individualized Employer Engagement

Lesson 1- Understanding the Employer Landscape

Highlights: 

  • Effectively utilizing and maximizing labor market information (LMI) to understand business sectors in terms of who is represented in the community and who is growing/expanding

  • Utilize a variety of market and sector research opportunities (including TCI+)

  • Recognizing and responding to different types of businesses with appropriate and varying approaches  

 

Lesson 2- Every Business is Unique: Tailor Your Approach

Highlights: 

  • Recognize the opportunities for individualizing services to business with the use of Individualized Business Plans (IBPs)

  • Identify and practice the steps for creating an IBP, including conducting a needs analysis, creating a proposal, and responding to changes and challenges

  • Developing cultural competency and humility, as well as recognizing personal politics and biases that may affect decision making

  • Being aware of and incorporating business cultural considerations, including size, location, values, leadership, and ownership.

 

Lesson 3- Environmental, Economic, and Other Challenging Situations in Employer Engagement

Highlights: 

  • Identify strategies for adjusting employer engagement practices in response to environmental and economic challenges

  • Recognize opportunities in supporting employers to adjust work settings and expectations as a result of workplace and environmental conditions

  • Identify consultative resources and services that can be provided to support employers, including knowledge of disaster preparedness, lessons learned, assistive technology, and employment laws.

  • Developing employer services during economic downturns and times of little or no hiring

Module 4: Employment Models to Meet Business Needs

Lesson 1- Meeting Employer Needs while Achieving Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE)

Highlights: 

  • Developing creative employment solutions to meet business needs includes developing a flexible mindset, nuanced assessment methods, and having developed trusting employer relationships

  • Understanding that the core of CIE incorporates customer informed choice and awareness of employment opportunities and strategies

  • Employers aren’t aware of CIE, but agency staff is using as a guidepost when developing economic opportunities

  • The employment practices included in this module are opportunities to meet hiring needs of employer needs in creative and unique ways.

 

Lesson 2- Meeting Employer Needs Through Work-Based Learning & Progressive Employment

Highlights: 

  • Work-based Learning: key principles, types of learning opportunities, benefits to employers, and examples

  • Progressive Employment: essential elements, advantages to employers, and examples

 

Lesson 3- Meeting Employer Needs Through Apprenticeships & Career Pathways

Highlights:

  • Pre-apprenticeship: essential elements, advantages to employers, and examples

  • Apprenticeship: essential elements, advantages to employers, and examples

  • On-the-Job Training: essential elements, advantages to employers, and examples

  • Career Pathways: essential elements, advantages to employers, and examples (including integration of educational instruction, workforce development, and vocational supports)

 

The contents of this web portal were developed under a grant from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA grant number H263C190012). RSA is a Center within the Department of Education (ED). The contents  do not necessarily represent the policy of RSA or ED, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.