Employment Services

Everyone who can work deserves equitable access to opportunities for competitive, integrated and meaningful employment in their own community. We help individuals in the Twin Cities metro area recognize their own useful abilities, learn the skills needed to find and keep a job and explore companies that are hiring now. We also provide in-service transportation for these activities.

Work with one of our employment specialists to find out what’s possible for you!

Employment Exploration

Learn what opportunities are open to you now and start to visualize the meaningful career you can build with your skills, talents and the resources available. Employment exploration gets you involved with people and experiences in your areas of interest that lead to stable employment. These activities and experiences strengthen your knowledge, interests and preferences so you can make informed employment and career decisions.

In addition to career education activities and educational visits to businesses in your area, you can receive ongoing counseling assistance, peer-to-peer mentoring, job shadowing and try-out experiences. Gain real experience through volunteering and individualized work experiences.

Employment Development

Do you have aspirations for a career that makes use of your unique skills, or even dreams of running your own business? Finding a job that you’re really good at is fulfilling and may help you connect with a greater sense of purpose. Get the skills training you need to get your career started and support yourself with full-time employment. We’ll help you succeed in your new role with continued support up to 30 days after you’re hired.

Everyone has useful skills and abilities. If you need some help discovering yours, we’ll begin with strengths-based assessments and help you discover opportunities that align with your abilities.

Plan Phase

In the plan phase, you’ll engage in person-centered discovery and work-based learning experiences to clearly define what kind of work situation you’ll be looking for in the find phase and how you’ll begin your search. You’ll learn about the tools, resources and supports available during your job search and work toward three outcomes:

  1. Work goals
  2. Benefits plan
  3. Job search launch

Find Phase

In the find phase, you’ll search for competitive, integrated employment or develop a small business to become self-employed. Our employment specialist will check in with you for progress reviews and provide continuous coaching and support until you’ve found the right position for you.

Employment Support Services

Once you’ve found a job or created a plan to become self-employed, you may benefit from support services to help you not just keep your job, but succeed at work. We can work with you to analyze and redesign your role to suit your abilities and strengths. We’ll meet with you in an integrated community setting to provide coaching on things like workplace dress and personal hygiene, appropriate self-care at work and understanding your wages and benefits. We can also provide ongoing training on job-related skills and relationships and finding transportation to and from your job site.