Employment Services
We provide employment services for individuals with disabilities by helping them become successfully employed. We are a vendor for the Texas Workforce Commission and offer a variety of services to best meet the needs of our clients.
Paid Work Experience
Paid Work Experience is a service we provide that allows our job coaches to train individuals in the skills necessary to address disability issues, interpersonal skills, daily living skills, and vocational impairment issues that interfere with a Vocational Rehab client obtaining or maintaining employment. Work Readiness Services benefit clients who have never worked, have not worked for a long time or have a sporadic work history, and prepares clients for successful employment so they can manage or address vocational impairments and be self-sufficient.
Summer Earn And Learn
Summer Earn and Learn (SEAL) is a program hosted by Goodwill that takes place during the summer and provides work readiness training and paid work experience for our clients. Innovative Ways 4U provides Job Skills Specialists to assist our clients every step of the way. This is a great summer opportunity for students with disabilities between the ages of 14-22 to experience different work place environments in 5 week intervals and gives them a chance to earn a little extra money over the summer!
Supported Employment
Job Placement
Supported Employment is a service we offer as a partner with the Texas Workforce Commission that is designed to provide our clients with the support they need to achieve competitive integrated employment. This service is an all-inclusive service that is customized per each client and includes individualized job development and placement as well as ongoing support such as job skills training and providing a variety of other supports with the overall goal of assisting our clients in sustaining long term employment.
Job Placement is a service we provide that assists our clients in obtaining competitive integrated employment. Our process is flexible, individualized, and assists the client during every step of the job search process from searching for positions ideally suited to the client's individual needs and wants, to filling out applications and resumes, to interviewing and job acceptance. Throughout the process we work closely with the prospective employer and our client to address any employment barriers, perceived or otherwise to see our client gainfully employed.
Summer Work Experience
Summer Work Experience (SWE) is similar to Summer Earn Learn in that it is geared toward students with disabilities and takes place during the summer so as not to interfere with school hours. With SWE, however, Innovative Ways 4U has more freedom to find work opportunities in other businesses that don't participate in the Goodwill hosted SEAL program and we use this added leeway to seek out opportunities specific to the interests of each client. We still provide Job Skills Specialists and the clients still earn extra money during the summer while gaining valuable work experience.
Job Skills Training
Job Skills Training is a service offered that provides job support when it is deemed the client needs a little extra assistance in a given area or with a certain skill. This service is almost always provided when our clients first enter a new job until the client is familiar with the position and has developed the skills needed to complete the tasks required by the position. This support is eventually phased out, but a Job Skills Trainer (Job Coach) can be brought back in if the position changes or new skills are needed and the client again needs some extra support to adapt to the changes.