Module 7

   Knowing National and Local Resources Available to Help with Placement

Learner’s Goal:  To understand the placement resources available to counselors.

Learner Objective:  At the end of the module, you will understand the placement resources which are available and how to use them.

 A.   Placement Resources

Counselors seeking to place older consumers should check with the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), a part-time employment program for low-income persons age 55 or over.  Program participants work at community and government agencies and are paid the Federal or State minimum wage, whichever is higher.  They may also receive training, and can use their participation as a bridge to other employment positions which are not supported by Federal funds.  A list of these follows:

·   AgeLight Institute (www.agelight.org)

·   AARP Senior Community Service Employment Program (www.aarp.org/scsep/)

·   Asociación Nacional Pro Personas Mayores

(National Association of Hispanic Elders–Project Ayuda) (www.nia.nih.gove/rd.139.html)

·   Experience Works (experienceworks.org) (Formerly Green Thumb, Inc.)

·   Geezer.com – an Experience Works site which encourages the marketing of products created by older workers.

·   Experience Works!–a nationwide staffing service available on line and specifically designed for mature workers regardless of age and income.

·   National Asian-Pacific Center on Aging (www.napca.org/)

·   National Caucus and Center on Black Aged (www.ncba-blackaged.org)

·   National Council on the Aging (www.ncoa.org)

·   National Indian Council on Aging (www.nicoa.org)

·  National Urban League (www.nul.org)

·  National Senior Citizens' Education and Resource Center (www.nscerc.org)

· U.S. Forest Service (www.fs.fed.us/rd/hossier/docs/scsep.htm)

Additional SCSEP program information can be found on line at: www.dsc.doleta.gov/seniors/

Electronic Job Development

  Placement resources have changed greatly with the introduction of electronic job development.  In addition to the information about senior-related sites, many other placement resources are available on line.

Other Workforce Development Resources 

  2) CareerPath Search Help Wanted ads and employer profiles among 500,000 new jobs posted monthly on this site .

  3) FedWorld Information Network Home Page

Search a Federal job information network and databases for employment opportunities.

4)   Job Center Employment Services

Register to receive daily e-mails listing jobs that match your employment profile.

5)   America's Job Bank (ajb.org) (Includes America’s Talent Bank and Job Scout)

6)   hoovers.com (employer information)

7)   flipdog.com/home.html (job leads)

 8) fedworld.gov/jobs/jobsearch.html (federal employment)

 9) careermosiac.com (job search by careers)

           10) jobbankusa.com (private sector job search)

           11) monster.com (search engine to job banks)

           12) collegegrad.com (job listings for college graduates)

           13) coolworks.com (job bank)

           14) jobtrack.com (job bank)

           17) Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov)

           18) EARN (The Employer Assistance Referral Network), a service of the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy and a national clearinghouse for employers with job openings and service providers with qualified employees (www.earnworks.com).

                      19) Check local newspapers for a website for classified ads job leads for a given area

B. Additional Information

The National Council on the Aging website has an article entitled “Job Searching on the Internet: The How-To Reference Tool” by Barbara Hoenig.  It can be found at

www.maturityworks.org/job searching_on_the-internet.htm

• The Senior Job Bank also has a list of employment links for Seniors. These can be found at www.seniorjobbank.org.

2.         State Occupational Information Coordinating Councils (SOICC) and a national SOICC (NOICC) are available to use for job search.  These provide information about careers and link the user to companies that have particular kinds of jobs based on career choices, including giving the HR director's name in those companies. The Alabama site, for example, is: www.adeca.state.al.us/SOICC/SOICC/default.html.

  3.         Local Employer Development leads to job vacancy information, is also available through active participation in the following organizations and their state and local chapters:

·    Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).  Human resource management staff belong to this organization and use it for networking.

·   Chambers of Commerce, particularly in the more rural areas because this is where business talks to business.

4.         Local Business Directories, utilizing their SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) codes, can generate information on company staffing patterns so job seekers which types of companies are possible employers.

5.         Local Employer Development Networks, which staff can join, link rehabilitation counselors with existing employer disability advocacy movements, the most recent being the Business Leadership Networks (often linked to VR programs and the brainchild of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities).

6.         Placement Tools such as the following can make placement easier

Promotional File Folder

Florida Division of Blind Services (FDBS) has had a great deal of success using such a file folder for placement of clients. 

The exterior of the folder includes the following  information:

·                    employment services offered by FDBS

·                    benefits to employers

·                    list of district offices and contact information

The inside pockets include related brochures (tailored to the employer or other marketing target).

·                    Are You Looking for a Few Good Workers

This brochure was developed by the AFB Employment Team. It contains many useful inserts including  an insert developed by the Goal 5 group of the National Agenda on Aging and Vision. The insert is entitled Consider Older Workers who are Visually Impaired.  The brochure is available through AFB.

·                    Have the “Vision” to Retain or Hire an Older Worker

Who Is Visually Impaired is a fact sheet, also developed by the Goal 5 group (see Appendix D).

 

Learning Activities–You may try these activities to practice what you have learned.

1.         Check out some of the SCSEP websites for information about senior employment.

2.         Find out about SCSEP programs in your area.

3.         Design a senior employment kit for your agency.

4.         Develop and write out a strategic plan to place more older persons into employment.  Set objectives and time lines. Determine who in your office or unit should be involved in the plan (e.g. rehabilitation teacher, deaf/blind specialists, assistive technology specialist).

Congratulations!

You have finished Module 7.  Now go on to the key points section to review what you have learned.

Key Points

1.         The Senior Community Service Employment Program provides job opportunities for older workers.

2.      Electronic Job Development is a tool that counselors can use to find appropriate placement opportunities for older consumers.

Self-Check

You will find a self-check section at the end of each module to allow you to find out what you have learned and help you identify sections you may need to review before moving on to the next module.

Please answer each True or False and check Appendix A for answers.