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Connect helps the business community tap into the talent pool offered by people with intellectual disabilities. We can provide you with guidance and assistance to successfully recruit, train and retain your new employee.
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Our Candidates
Connect offers you access to an under-utilized pool of candidates who have the skills to fill needs for your business.
Our candidates are diverse, but they often share important commonalities:
- They want to work.
- They have unique skills, experience and perspectives to contribute.
- They have the benefit of a unique support system that helps them, and you, reach their full potential.
- They are commonly identified amongst the most reliable, safety-conscious and productive employees in their companies.
Identifying Opportunities
We will work with you to understand your needs and identify existing positions, or unmet needs in your business, and where one of our candidates may fit perfectly.
Recruitment
We know recruitment can be a time-consuming and costly process for your business. We make it a priority to know our candidates — their interests, skills, experience and support needs — and can quickly identify those who would be a good fit for your business.
Interviews
We can pre-screen candidates for you and present you with a short-list of candidates to interview. We can also support you and the candidate in preparing for the interview to ensure a smooth and effective experience for all.
Job Structuring & Accommodations
You may meet a great candidate that you want to hire, who may also require some accomodations. We can advise you on methods to effectively train and accommodate your new employee, and our professional staff can help you modify training methods, develop training tools, and identify assistive devices that will help your new employee be successful.
We can work closely with you and your new employee to ensure their needs are met, without compromising the needs of your business.
Our services are free, and the costs of accommodations, when required, are typically free or very low cost.
Training
You are the expert on your business, and you likely have a tried and true process for onboarding and training new employees. Our experienced staff will be available to work with your trainers to develop a customized training strategy for your new employee if needed, which can include onsite job coaching services.
Long Term Support
We hope you and your new employee will work together for a long time, and we are committed to be available to support you along the way.
Our services typically include ongoing consultation and follow-up to ensure successful outcomes. Our supports may include weekly visits to the workplace, email or phone communications to monitor your employee’s progress, learning and support needs. We will tailor a communication and support plan to meet everyone’s needs.
We can’t be there to support you everyday, so we can also help identify mentors for your employee in the workplace. Mentors can contribute to the success of your new employee by helping them understand your workplace and work culture.
Dispelling Myths
You may be surprised to know that some of the greatest barriers to employment for people with disabilities are the myths and misconceptions that people sometimes have about their abilities to perform a job, be reliable and be safe at work.  Numerous studies and anecdotal evidence have proven that people with disabilities can meet and exceed the needs of employers: