Employment Specialists Help People with Disabilities Thrive on the Job

Getting hired. Onboarding and orientation. First day on the job.

It can be stressful to start any new position. Amanda Kuzma and the nine other Employment Specialists at VersAbility Resources are there to facilitate all of those challenges and more with new hires who are part of the nonprofit’s Supported Employment Program.

More than 400 people with disabilities have jobs through this program in areas such as food service, warehousing, custodial services, retail, graphic design, hospitality, information technology, health care and more.

Employment Specialists are job coaches who help individuals with disabilities find steady employment. The person with the disability must first receive a referral from Virginia’s Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). With that achieved, the individual and the job coach explore possible career fields based on the person’s interests and aspirations.

“We have individuals interested in stocking, cleaning, and data entry. Some are even interested in being a lawyer,” Kuzma said.

A day in the life of a job coach varies as much as it does for people with disabilities. The job coach is a liaison, offering as much or as little assistance as needed. They can help the candidate with resume preparation and/or interviewing skills.

Once the person is hired, the job coach undergoes the same training as the person hired, so if needed, they can break down the job requirements into smaller steps.

“We learn at the same time they are learning,” Kuzma said. “We meet with the employer and make sure they understand the rules of coaching, how long we’re going to be there, and how it’s of benefit to them. We don’t disclose the disability, but we’re there to make sure the training goes smoothly.”

That process often involves role-playing so the individual can feel comfortable meeting whatever issues come up during a typical day. Often, coaching is reminding the new hire of the scenario that they practiced together.

In sharing an anecdote about a new hire who was unsure of how to interact with a new co-worker, Kuzma said, “The coach stepped in and said, ‘OK. This is a situation where we need to flex our communication muscles like we practiced.’ The individual was able to say, ‘Oh, I remember how to do that!’”

Often, new hires struggle with anxiety, she said. Among the success stories Kuzma shares is a new employee attending an orientation and feeling overwhelmed by so many others in the room also taking part in onboarding.

“We were able to have our own private orientation where I explained the materials to him, and he didn’t feel like he was on display in front of a lot of other people,” Kuzma said.

On the first day of work, he asked Kuzma, “What if I make a mistake?”

“I’ll be right there to help you,” she reassured.

For the first week, Kuzma was with him every day while he worked in the memory care unit. His tasks ranged from washing dishes to monitoring residents for safety. Early on, he alerted another staffer when he saw a confused resident try to leave the unit.

“He was able to say, ‘OK. This isn’t right.” Kuzma said. “For him ,that was a huge victory.”

Kuzma continued to connect with him when challenges came up during the pandemic. She was no longer able to be there in person, so she used video calls to communicate, teaching him how to put on his PPE equipment safely.

“Five years later, he’s the highest paid dishwasher there, and he has been Employee of the Month three times,” she said. “He overcame so much through his determination.”

The goal is always independence so once the new employee feels comfortable, the job coach fades out, though continues to monitor with occasional check-ins.

“Some people need us for a day; some need us for two weeks,” Kuzma said. “Everything we do is different for every person.”

But one thing that is the same: “We empower the individual the whole way through.”