Elements of employment services |
Competencies |
Demonstration examples |
Helpful courses and resources |
Job search planning (employment exploration, employment development and employment support services) |
The employment specialist should:
- Encourage informed choice, self-determination and active participation throughout the employment process
- Emphasize the person’s strengths, interests and talents.
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The employment specialist uses information they learn about an individual job seeker to develop a plan toward meaningful employment and make a list of potential employers. They can demonstrate that through creating either:
- A vocational profile
- An individual employment plan.
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The following courses are available in DirectCourse:
- Business Perspectives
- Foundations of Employment Services
- Principles of Career Development.
For more information about employment exploration resources, see Disability Hub MN – Your Options: Work.
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Job development and negotiation (employment development services) |
The employment specialist should:
- Help the person in their job search process
- Market the person’s skills to employers
- Research and create opportunities for the person
- Organize information gathered (e.g., create list of employers by industry or location)
- Develop relationships with businesses
- Negotiate accommodations and conditions (e.g., hours, wages, tasks, breaks, orientation).
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The employment specialist demonstrates competency when they are able to:
- Work collaboratively with the person and employer to:
- Negotiate a job and the provision of supports
- Create terms of employment that match the person’s interests, skills and conditions he/she needs for success
- Write progress reports about meetings with the person
- Help the person create resumes and cover letters.
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The following courses are available in DirectCourse:
- Strategies for Job Development, Part 1
- Strategies for Job Development, Part 2
- Job Creation
- Networking.
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Post-employment support (employment support services) |
The employment specialist should:
- Ensure the employee is included in work activities and treated like all other employees
- Manage travel and transportation
- Perform comprehensive job analysis (i.e., breaking down jobs into smaller tasks)
- Develop strategies for workplace supports.
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The employment specialist demonstrates competency when they are able to:
- Display job retention rates
- Set up ongoing, post-employment supports
- Monitor the employment relationship to ensure satisfaction of both the person and employer
- Create a task analysis document from the information they learn in the comprehensive job analysis.
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The following courses are available in DirectCourse:
- Performance Coaching and Support, Part 1
- Performance Coaching and Support, Part 2.
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Benefits planning (employment exploration, employment development and employment support services) |
The employment specialist should:
- Know information about:
- Federal and state benefit program rules, associated work incentives and how they apply to the person’s situation
- Common myths about benefits and work
- Use the Disability Benefits 101 (DB101) website to find and use information and tools helpful to a person
- Know when and how to connect a person to resources for additional benefits planning when necessary.
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The employment specialist demonstrates competency when they are able to:
- Provide accurate information about benefits and work
- Identify and verify types of benefits the person receives
- Address myths and barriers related to benefits and work
- Complete a DB101 estimator session and explain the results
- Make appropriate referrals for additional benefits planning when necessary.
- The employment specialist demonstrates competency when the people they serve:
- Gain confidence in understanding their benefits and the impact of paid employment
- Increase their use of work incentives
- Have greater economic stability
- Increase their use of Disability Benefits 101 (DB101)’s benefits planning tools and other resources.
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The following courses are available through the links provided:
For more information about benefits planning, see:
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