Lesson 6: Informal Vocational Assessment
Attention
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:
- Students will apply knowledge and information collected from the vocational profile to determine job readiness of a consumer and to match interest, abilities, and capabilities of consumers with jobs that exist in the labor market.
- Students will utilize the Job Readiness Checklist and compare characteristics of the consumer with the amount of support required to successfully perform in each category.
Teaching
Job Readiness Checklist Definitions
Job Readiness Checklist
We have looked at transferable skills analysis and vocational profiles as initial tools for intake and getting to know a consumer you will be providing employment services to. This information is collected during a comprehensive psychosocial interview that most agencies conduct with new referrals. This process will have identified some basic information about the consumer that will promote them to move toward permanent employment.
In this lesson, we are going to extend that profile to an informal vocational assessment and job ready checklist, a process that identifies specific teaching moments where information can be easily provided to the consumer to increase his or her ability to adapt to the specific employment environment [system] they will be working in. This occurs primarily in a Job Coaching setting, or during interview preparation but can be the function of a case manager or community support staff person.
If done correctly it will not feel like some formal test to the consumer is undergoing but rather a conversation about what works and what doesn't work in a place of work. Ultimately the consumer will learn to self assess in these areas, just like they check the mirror for smudges on their face or a collar up or some other factor which may make a poor impression. At times this self check is not easily achieved by a consumer. However, when the self assessment is completed by the consumer as a routine habit, employment success is more often achieved and sustained. The consumer you are working with may or may not have had a formal vocational assessment sponsored by Vocational Rehabilitation Services or another vocational program, but as an ACT Team member, employment specialist or job coach part of your role is to understand the ongoing vocational issues of the consumer and promote continuous improvement.
Click HERE to review a sample Job Readiness Checklist
Assessment
Lesson 6 Quiz
- Review the Job Readiness Checklist Sample found in the Lesson Plan. Develop a plan of activity as to what YOU would do with this person. This should reflect the setting of priorities and a very brief plan. No more than a couple paragraphs at most.
Lesson 6 Discussion
Review the Job Readiness Definitions, the Checklist, and the sample. Identify a specific mental illness of your choice, identify a single symptom, and describe how that symptom may impact at least one of the areas assessed in this form. (You are NOT limited to using the example of Robert L., you can make up your own case.)
For your reply post, suggest a way that you might go about removing the BARRIER (not the symptom). Remember, BARRIERS are specific to the ENVIRONMENTS in which those BEHAVIORS need to happen.
Example:
Robert L. has Schizophrenia that is pretty well managed by medications but he can become easily overwhelmed with details. Since his plan (see sample) involves getting training first, my intervention would be to work with the school that provides the training on Dog Grooming to develop a modified curriculum which would allow Robert to work alone on small steps of each aspect of the training. We would likely have shorter classes and each class would cover only a small part of the job training.
As you can see, this addresses the BARRIER, not the symptom, in the ENVIRONMENT (Dog Grooming Training Class) that could facilitate Robert's success in this plan.