By Anne Klockenkemper
NSITE, the workforce development and talent management enterprise of National Industries for the Blind, has connections nationwide. These partnerships give vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors and their clients across the country a wide array of options when it comes to skill building, career preparedness training, and job placement.
“We can do business and have the ability to provide services in 43 states,” said Marianne Haegeli, NSITE’s director of learning and leadership. “NSITE’s key differentiator is that we offer multiple career training choices across industries. Nobody else does what we do. For trainings that NSITE does not offer, we often partner with associated nonprofit agencies (NPAs) to refer our VR clients to NPA programs.”
These offerings run the gamut, from Better Professional Behaviors – which helps prepare those who have never worked in an office environment to learn the skills they need to succeed in one – all the way through programs that lead to industry certifications and NSITE’s Professional Mastery of Office Technology for Employment (ProMOTE), which improves participants’ proficiency in the use of office technology through assistive technology.
Taya Tarr, blind services assistant director for the Vermont Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Burlington, VT, appreciates how NSITE’s programs and connections transform lives by preparing her clients for competitive, integrated employment.
Tarr, who is also a VR counselor, said the resources NSITE offers are invaluable to those served by her agency. “They’re really geared toward individuals looking for services. And they can make it a personalized approach.”
When a VR case is opened for someone who has recently lost their vision – Tarr said their caseload usually sits somewhere between 60-80 people – their individual needs vary. Some, she said, need help maintaining the job they have through assistive technology. Others are either starting from scratch or must relearn some skills in order to return to the workforce.
“Some individuals need to completely change and shift careers,” Tarr continued. “They can’t drive, or work in healthcare anymore, for example, because they need their vision.”
In Vermont, she said, because the state is so small, the options aren’t always wide-ranging for someone who has recently lost their sight and still wants to continue working. “NSITE can provide training opportunities for individuals to learn a new path, and connections to real-life employers who are willing to hire.”
Tarr is currently taking advantage of the Better Professional Behaviors program; there are five clients participating throughout Vermont.
“That’s a great turn out for Vermont,” she said. “And this is more of a zero-to-one scenario; we’re getting them ready to engage with an employer.”
Haegeli said while employment isn’t guaranteed, “it doesn’t matter what career track our clients are interested in, we are committed to assisting them with their job search. NSITE maintains relationships with our students beyond their completion of our programs, even beyond any job placement assistance.”
Troy Collett, NSITE’s business development manager, said NSITE’s partnership with state VR agencies like Tarr’s benefits everyone involved. “It allows Taya to put a client into a program that might not be included in the state of Vermont. We created a larger network to do exactly this,” he said. “For a counselor, this gives them certificate and certification training options which are relevant and actually lead to jobs for their clients.”