Webcast Details

Developing meaningful relationships with employers is a critical component of the customized employment process.  Employment specialists representing job seekers with significant disabilities must have basic business acumen to determine employer needs, develop customized job descriptions, and maintain customized jobs.  This presentation will explore how employment specialists can more meaningfully engage with employers during the relationship building process.  Specifically, the presentation will review results of a focus group designed to learn about employer’s views about customized employment. The presenter will outline several themes that emerged from the analysis of focus group sessions including (a) business need, (b) networking, (c) communication, (d) training, and (e) financial implications. Recommendations about how to improve and maintain meaningful relationships with employers will be provided.

Presenter:
Tim Riesen, PhD is a research assistant professor in the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation and is a faculty fellow for the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University.  Tim’s research focuses on promoting positive employment outcomes for individuals with more significant disabilities, secondary transition, and evidence-based instruction.  

 * This webcast was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number #90DP0085) on Customized Employment of Individuals with Disabilities.