Division of Vocational Rehabilitation closes out month-long virtual employment opportunities forum
Throughout the month of October, DVR’s Business Services and Pre-Employment Transition Services teams co-partnered on a two-part, weekly virtual forum welcoming employers and accessibility advocacy groups to engage with youth and DVR customers seeking job opportunities.
The October forum comprised eight sessions:
Week 1: Organizations WISE and PAVE presented on advocacy.
Week 2: VIGOR’s Rachel Kiken shared about the many career opportunities VIGOR supports across multiple states. WA State Laborer’s Union explained to attendees about opportunities in its statewide apprenticeship program, which is a paid apprenticeship program that opens doors to many different jobs in the labor industry.
Week 3: Hilton’s Larry Freshler spotlighted employment opportunities, job flexibility and upward mobility within its various franchises. Hyatt Hotel’s John Ficca highlighted the hotelier’s Seattle/King County-based Hands On @Hyatt internship program, which provides employment pathways into many departments within Hyatt.
Week 4: Barry Yee, Executive Producer at Virtual Job Shadow shared with the group about video production and broadcast. HP representatives Linda Stent, Susan Manuel, and Ajay Gupta shared with the group about HP’s internship program, accessibility, and creating a workplace where employees feel like they belong and can grow.
DVR delivered the virtual forum via the Zoom platform. The forum was fully accessible, featuring Closed Captioning, ASL interpreters, and CART services.
The forum garnered more than 300 DVR customer log-ins, averaging about 80 DVR customer log-ins per week.
“We’re really happy about the audience we were able to reach,” says Chelsie Gillum, a DVR Transition Consultant for Region 3.
In October, DVR celebrated the 75th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
To learn more about DVR’s Business Services Team, visit: www.dshs.wa.gov/dvr/business-services-team-bst
To learn more about DVR’s Transition Services, visit: www.dshs.wa.gov/dvr/high-school-transition