On Thursday, March 22, the Great Lakes Business Leadership Network held the inaugural College Career Development Workshop, at Whiting Forest in Midland.  

College students from Saginaw Valley State University, Mid-Michigan Community College and Northwood University participated. Representatives from the Dow Chemical Company, Dow Corning/Hemlock Semiconductor, Chemical Bank, the Great Lakes Loons,  MidMichigan Health, Medical Data Solutions, Covenant Health Care, McLaren-Bay Region, and the Midland Community Tennis Center all presented.  

The main focus of the workshop was The Human Resources Perspective: Business Expectations and Do's & Don'ts. Students also participated in exercises focused on career preparation; résumé writing; interview skills; and disclosure and accommodations. Presenters shared insights into what a company looks for in a new employee and what it takes to be an independent business person.   

The students left the workshop with a greater understanding of the opportunities open to them and how to prepare and position themselves for those opportunities.

Customized employment is a flexible process designed to personalize the employment relationship between a job candidate and an employer in a way that meets the needs of both. It is based on an individualized match between the strengths, conditions, and interests of a job candidate and the identified business needs of an employer. Customized Employment utilizes an individualized approach to employment planning and job development - one person at a time . . . one employer at a time.

Customized employment will often take the form of:

• Task reassignment: Some of the job tasks of incumbent workers are reassigned to a new employee. This reassignment allows the incumbent worker to focus on the critical functions of his or her job. Task reassignment typically takes the form of job creation, whereby a new job description is negotiated based on current, unmet workplace needs.
• Job carving: An existing job description is modified - containing one or more, but not all, of the tasks from the original job description.
• Job sharing: Two or more people share the tasks and responsibilities of a job based on each other's strengths.

Customized Employment: Solutions for Employers

Through Customized Employment, the relationship between employee and employer is personalized in a way that meets the needs of both. It's a universal strategy that benefits many people, including people with disabilities. Reflecting this universal strategy, for many years, ODEP has worked to strengthen the capacity of the nation's workforce development system to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities through Customized Employment. ODEP has evidence-based research data showing that Customized Employment leads to positive employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

In 2001, ODEP implemented a five-year Customized Employment initiative. Today, ODEP continues to promote the strategies and research data on Customized Employment through education, outreach and collaborations with other federal agencies and private organizations on how Customized Employment is an additional workplace flexibility policy (also known as flexible work arrangements) and/or practice within the workforce.

The US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®) is proud to launch their national public education campaign titled, "I Am, I Can, I Do." The campaign includes a series of 30 and 60 second Public Service Announcements (PSAs) showcasing people with disabilities who "Do!"

AMC Entertainment Inc., a USBLN® member company, debuted the first in this PSA series in their theaters at the end of September 2011. The showings continued through October in celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The USBLN® PSA aired in 5,000 movie theaters nationwide reaching over 20 million viewers.

"I Am, I Can, I Do" USBLN PSA

The campaign's inclusion of many vibrant young people with disabilities conveys the value that people with disabilities bring to the workplace, marketplace and supply chain plus sends a message to youth with disabilities to aspire to their "dream" careers.

The campaign will continue throughout 2012, culminating with a special event to be held during the 2012 USBLN® Annual Conference on October 1-4 in Orlando, Florida.

The first PSA in the series features Steve Derelian, an USC Business Graduate, Attorney and surfer; Lexi Marman a Special Education teacher, Jazz dancer and Former Miss Deaf California; and Dominque Beltran, a Film Maker and a member of Actors for Autism with the exciting conclusion that "inclusion works." To watch the 30-second PSA, click the following direct links or visit www.usbln.org:

30-second PSA traditional captioning on bottom - http://youtu.be/4bTFVb-twrk