There are hiring incentive programs offered to businesses, who wish to employ one of VISIONS clients, at no cost to you, the employer. The Work Experience Training Program (WET), is designed for our clients who are currently looking to improve their employment skills in an area they do not have experience in, or because it would help them to acquire successful employment by adding more work experience to their resume. There is no commitment from the employer to hire an individual once their WET has been completed; however, our hope is that the client will have gained enough skills to be considered for a permanent position with your organization.
If you are an employer who is interested in diversifying your workforce, and if you would like VISIONS workforce department to help meet your employment needs, or if you would like more information about the tax incentives for hiring people who are legally blind, contact Heather Hanlon-Emeka, Director of Workforce Programs at (212) 625-1616, Extension 108 or, hemeka@visionsvcb.org.
What is the WET Program?
The WET is A 7 to 13-week experience at the employer’s site; where the individual is given competitive tasks along with guidance, to perform and complete them successfully. In addition, they are learning valuable skills to better prepare them for permanent employment. The trainee is provided a stipend through VISIONS while they are enrolled as a WET.
VISIONS workforce staff will provide logistical and technical guidance and support to the newly hired client, as needed, as well as ongoing support to clients who are work experience trainees.
Join VISIONS in our mission to help young adults with vision loss
begin to identify occupational interests and develop an action plan for reaching their career goals. Our students are looking to overcome barriers to succeed in vocational training and job placement.
VISIONS vocational rehabilitation center (VRC)
is a newly built 16,000 square foot, two-story wheelchair accessible building designed specifically for residential programs for youth and adults with vision loss. Located on the 37-acre campus of VISIONS Center on Blindness (VCB) in Rockland County, NY, the VRC offers a state of the art technology and computer center, experienced and a caring, supportive program staff, all with high expectations for the students.
Students from VISIONS are seeking employer partners in Rockland County
to host workplace tours, allow Job shadowing and/or short term work experiences of their workplaces. So that students can be exposed to potential careers and jobs, build occupational knowledge, learn about the education and training needed for entry in the industry, observe adults in a work-place environment, and foster an understanding of the business’s workforce and its contributions to the community.
Workplace tours:
are a big part of work-based learning opportunities designed to help students gain experience and insight into real-world careers. Work place tours typically last from a couple of hours to half a day; a workplace tour is a modest investment of time that may make a real difference in the students’ future education and career choices.
Job shadowing:
in the community provides students with realistic views of a specific job, observe employees on the job, have a valuable mentoring opportunity and allows students time to ask questions.
Short term work experience:
a work based learning experience is a structured, time-limited, career preparation activity in which students are placed at a workplace for a defined period of time to participate in and observe work firsthand within a given industry. These unpaid Internships provide students the opportunity to learn by doing real work and being productively engaged in the workplace (30 hours i.e. all in one week, or one/day a week for a month, etc.)