• Intro to Vocational Rehabilitation
  • How VR Helps in Employment
  • What is section 121
• Vocational Counseling
  • Tips from the Field
  • Counselors as Leaders - 7 Traits
  • 7 Critical Traits (continued)
• School to Work Transition
  • The Beginning
  • Preparing Youth for VR
  • Writing a Transition Plan
  • Transition Plan Specifics
  • Academic Instruction
  • Transition Links
• Individual Plan of Employment
  • Setting a Goal
  • Factors to Consider
  • Services on the IPE
  • Developing Job Skills
  • Work & Professionalism
• Services Under IPE
  • Soft Skills: Becoming employable
  • Job Analysis & Job Carving
    • Job Analysis Example # 1
    • Mary's Job
    • Job Analysis Example #2
    • Job Carving
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Spectrum of Services
• Difficult Clients
  • Understanding Difficult People
  • Non-working lifestyle
  • Fear & Hopelessness
  • Fear, Hopelessness & VR
  • Fear & Hopelessness (cont.)
  • Fear & Hopelessness, Part III
  • Clients Don't Want to Work
• Legal Rights
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
    • Legal Rights - IDEA
    • Allan's Story
    • IDEA - Later Changes
    • IDEA links
  • Section 504
    • Accommodations & Modifications
    • Accommodations VS Modifications
• Self-Advocacy
  • Steps to Self-Advocacy
  • Tools of the Trade
• Resources
  • Spirit Lake Resources
  • Under-used Resources
  • VR Links

DEVELOPING JOB SKILLS THROUGH YOUR IPE

By now you probably understand enough about us at Spirit Lake Consulting to realize we are not ones to sugar-coat the facts. Here's the deal .... a lot of employment programs are focused on training people for job search skills, that is, how to write a resume, interview for jobs. What we have found, though, is that most people we have worked with need job skills , they need to be able to function in the work place.

Employers require two types of skills of their workers. The first type is the ability to do the job. That is, welders need to be able to weld, truckdrivers need to be able to drive a truck, computer programmers need to be able to program a computer and waiters need to be able to take orders and bring food to the right table.

The second type of skills is variously referred to as 'soft skills', 'workplace culture' or 'emotional intelligence'. No job description we ever read said,

"You need to bathe, for crying out loud! Also, don't physically assault your boss. Come to work on time and if you are going to be out a week for your grandfather's funeral in Montana, give us a call and let us know."

On a transition plan, or on any Individual Plan for Employment for a person who has not been previously employed, soft skills are crucial. Spirit Lake Consulting, Inc. offers a leadership skills workshop that begins with employee success skills where you can find a great deal of information on employee success skills.

We strongly recommend your IPE include a program such as the leadership skills workshop or the Spirit Lake JOBS program. What does the JOBS program do? First of all, if you have someone else call for you to get into the program - your mom, your girlfriend - you don't get admitted. You have to attend classes for five days and be on time. If you miss a day, you don't pass the course. In an environment where one of the biggest factors in job turnover is absenteeism, being able to document that you can show up on time five days in a row puts you ahead of most people.