WISE Ticket to Work Webinar
Learn While You Earn with Ticket to Work and Apprenticeship
November 28, 2018

Speakers: Sarah Hyland (Moderator); Carolyn Jones, Edison Freire, Chris Bellias, & Angelina Bush (Presenters)

SARAH>> Hello, everyone. Good afternoon and welcome to today's Ticket to Work webinar: "Learn While You Earn with Ticket to Work and Apprenticeship." My name is Sarah Hyland. I am a member of the Ticket to Work Team, and I will be your moderator for today's webinar. To get us started, I would like to review some items that will help you get the most out of today's webinar. 

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Okay, and now as I mentioned earlier, my name is Sarah Hyland. I am a member of the Ticket to Work Team, and I am excited to be with you today moderating this webinar. We are delighted to have you with us, as well as a group of individuals who will share information for you concerning "Learn While You Earn with Ticket to Work and Apprenticeship."

We have Carolyn Jones, Senior Policy Advisor, Youth Team U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, ODEP; Edison Freire, Director, Gateway Initiatives, JEVS Human Services; Chris Bellias, Supervisor, JEVS hireAbility. Filling in for Susan Schonfield today, we have Angelina Bush, Assistant Director of Benefit Counseling at Community Integrated Services. Unfortunately, Derek Schwartz will not be able to join us this afternoon.

I would like to start by introducing Carolyn Jones and Edison Freire to begin today's webinar. Carolyn Jones serves as the Senior Policy Advisor on the Youth Policy Team in the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. She provides expert policy and program analysis and recommendations in support of competitive employment for youth and young adults with disabilities. Carolyn started her career in the disability field in 2002 as Program Director at Thresholds Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centers in Chicago. 

Edison Freire is currently the Director at Gateway Initiatives at JEVS Human Services, where he works to expand employment opportunities for underserved populations by providing technical assistance and support for employers seeking to start apprenticeship programs. Edison's experience includes over two decades of work with youth from diverse backgrounds as teacher and coach, supervisor and employer; and he has recently been named Technical Lead in Philadelphia's first-ever real list (inaudible) as someone who is helping the city's local tech ecosystem become more integrated.

Carolyn, I'm going to turn it over to you.

CAROLYN>> Thanks, Sarah, for that wonderful introduction.

Thank you all for joining today's webinar. Today's learning objectives include an overview of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Youth Team. We will provide an overview of ODEP and its work focused on increasing access to employment for youth and adults with disabilities. We will define and review the benefits of apprenticeship and work-based learning. JEVS will provide a clear link between apprenticeship, career pathways, and pre-employment transition services. We will discuss community integrated services for services and support based on the identified needs and goals of the job seeker being served. Lastly, we will provide some resources you can use after this webinar.

Next slide, please.

At the end of today's webinar, you will have a better understanding of how to define apprenticeship; how apprenticeship can help increase access to work and higher education, such as community colleges; ways we support apprenticeship; the value of apprenticeship for youth and adults with disabilities as a career pathway to higher wages; and next steps for beneficiaries and Social Security recipients.

Next slide, please.

The Office of Disability Employment Policy, or ODEP, understands that job seekers with disabilities are an important part of our workforce. We know that the pathway to good-paying jobs is equal access to education and field training. Our work includes connecting with others in and out of government to educate and promote employment access for job seekers with disabilities. We support changes to policies and practices aimed to increase access to employment success for people with disabilities. 

We develop resources and tools for others to use such as guides, videos, brochures, and publications. We also work to promote good practices learned during research to state employers, to support agencies, schools, and others through outreach like today's webinar, for example. Finally, our outreach efforts allow us to target different colleges, American Job Centers, or groups for example. For more information on ODEP, please visit: www.dol.gov/odep.

Next slide, please.

ODEP's Youth Policy Team supports career pathways and the transition of youth and young adults to higher education. We also support transition to competitive employment for people with disabilities to work alongside people without a disability. We know with the right support, a path to a meaningful career is accessible to all. 

We work to support the law to increase job access. This Federal law is the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, also known as WIOA. WIOA is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services needed to acquire the skills and credentials needed to get and keep a good job. 

We support the use of Guideposts for Success, which is based on research and evidence. Guideposts tells us that all youth need high-quality support, such as family and school involvement, to successfully transition to adulthood. It also tells us that you need programs that allow them to gain skills, understand their strengths and weakness such as work experiences, leadership skills, career exploration, job shadow, and similar work-based learning opportunities.

We support individualized learning plans or ILPs. These youth-driven plans mean that young people have a say in their learning to ensure they will graduate with the knowledge, skills, and experience they need for a well-rounded education and future success. 

We support the use of Universal Design for Learning or UDL. UDL allows all to access, participate in, and progress in the classroom and on the job by reducing barriers. Examples of UDL include the use of text that can be read aloud by the computer, captions on videos, or voice descriptions of pictures. 

Lastly, the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, or NCWD/Youth, is ODEP's technical assistance center. They promote full access to employment for people with disabilities, and they do this by providing training and resources to the public. 

Next slide, please.

ODEP's Youth Team has four access employment-related projects. These projects are focused on identifying barriers to education and employment and to develop and share policies and practices for others to use focused on increasing job success. These projects include our community colleges' Pathway to Careers Grants. This is a demonstration project in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Syracuse, New York. The colleges are improving access to recruitment, degree attainment, career development, and career development for students with disabilities. The Pathways' efforts use Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, to ensure flexible learning environments that can accommodate individual learning styles and differences. UDL is a way of thinking about teaching and learning to help all students succeed.

Our Disability Employment Initiative, or DEI, is a joint project between ODEP and DOL's Employment and Training Administration or ETA. This project aims to increase the capacity of the nation's workforce system, such as the American Job Centers, or One-Stop, to provide employment and support services to job seekers with disabilities. 

Our inclusive Apprenticeship Demonstration Project, or APM, provides skills training with related classroom instruction and existing apprenticeship programs to increase the number of youth and adults with disabilities and information technology, or IT, health care, and other high-skilled, well-paying industries. The goal is to increase skills training, job access, and credential attainment.

Lastly, our SSI Youth Research Project is focused on factors that support job success. This included what worked to help beneficiaries and SSI recipients get and keep a good job.

With that, I will turn it over to JEVS Human Services.

Next slide, please.

With that, I'll turn it over to Edison with JEVS Human Services.

EDISON>> Good afternoon. This is Edison Freire. Thank you for the opportunity to share with you JEVS interest and the passion we have for connecting people with disabilities to employment opportunities through the apprenticeship model. 

Next slide, please.

You already heard from my colleague, Carolyn, about apprenticeships; and I want to expand a little bit about what is an apprenticeship.

First and foremost, an apprenticeship is a job. That's the most important thing that if you have a takeaway from this session, it's that at apprenticeship is a job. By that we mean that an apprentice has an opportunity to earn while they're learning and while they're learning, getting the support to become a productive employee for a company.

So what is an apprenticeship program?

Essentially, an apprenticeship program is an opportunity for an employer to work with the apprentice to develop an on-the-job training program and to provide some classroom instruction, where what you learn in the classroom you get to apply on the job. And while you're applying on the job, you get mentored by a supervisor or someone who already has that experience. Throughout this experience, you have to remember that you're collecting a paycheck. That's the key; you're collecting a paycheck.

Next slide, please.

So what is the value of an apprenticeship to a job seeker?

An apprenticeship is an opportunity to get a toe into an industry. Say you are interested in information technology or healthcare or retail. This is a way that you can get a real job, get paid, learn on the job, and also have an opportunity to build up your education, experience, and educational credentials. All of this is being done in conjunction with an employer who has identified an experienced supervisor or experienced worker who is going to provide the mentoring and the feedback that one needs to grow on the job.

Next slide, please.

An apprenticeship can be an opportunity, as we said earlier, to learn something in the classroom. But that learning in the classroom can be a gateway to further education. It could be a gateway to entering a college program. It could be a way of earning some credits that one can apply to a degree at a future opportunity. It could also be a way to gain a credential that is a certificate program or a series of trainings that provide an alternative to a four-year degree.

At the same time that you're learning, you're developing skills that you can also transfer to other opportunities. By that we mean those skills that make you marketable for any employer. So as you practice on the job, you might be learning about collaboration; you might be thinking about problem solving; you might be picking up the skills about project management. 

At the completion of your apprenticeship, the goal is to have three things attained. One is the employer has a prepared employee to do the job. The second one is that you, as an apprentice completing the program, attained a credential that can be transferable and you can take it to another employer if the opportunity arises; and, three, that the education has been aligned to something meaningful to your experience, to the employer's needs, and that it can lead to further education.

Next slide, please.

A typical apprentice when they start a job starts at what we say, 50% to 60% of the wage of somebody who has followed the traditional path and knows the trade or the craft. So as one goes through an apprenticeship, the employer would meet with the apprentice and the supervisor and validate the learning and the on-the-job training that's happening and will give usually a wage progression. That means that as you meet the milestones or the goals of the apprenticeship, your salary increases. It can increase over time, usually six months or longer depending on the length of the apprenticeship. A typical length of an apprenticeship can be anywhere between a one-year to five-year term. Usually apprenticeships are available starting at around $15 an hour, so these are very competitive opportunities for potential job seekers.

Next slide, please. 

If you are interested in an apprenticeship, there are several websites you can visit; and you can learn more about opportunities in your area. The most common options are the following:
Through the U.S. Department of Labor, you can visit the website: http://bit.ly.dol-apprenticeship.
You can also contact your local American Job Center at: http://bit.ly/career-one-stop. 
Or you can visit a new resource, which is the Apprenticeship Finder Tool at: http://bit.ly/finder-tool.

Next slide, please.

The last address I shared with you is the Apprenticeship Finder Tool, and you can see this here. There is another way to get to it, which is through this URL: www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/training/find-apprenticeships.aspx. Through these resources, you can learn more about what are the benefits of an apprenticeship but, more importantly, the kind of apprenticeships that are available in your area; the kind of training that you may need to enter an apprenticeship; the support that you can find from local agencies or workforce boards to give you an opportunity to enter an apprenticeship.

Next slide, please.

[Pause]

Next slide, please.

We briefly gave you a general overview of what is an apprenticeship, and here at JEVS we're really focusing on what we call building out inclusive apprenticeships. Those are opportunities specifically for people with disabilities.

Next slide, please.

I want to go back and give you a little bit of background about JEVS Human Services. Briefly, I just want to share that we were founded in 1941 as an agency to help Jewish refugees. Today, we serve the communities in Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.

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In this area, we serve many different people: youth, individuals living with disabilities, returning citizens, and long-term unemployed clients. We work directly with employers to connect individuals from over 30 programs that we run with good-paying jobs. We collaborate with other agencies and partners to create career opportunities, as well as to provide training and additional supports.

Next slide, please.

I'm going to ask my colleague, Chris Bellias, to talk a little bit about the division that specifically focuses on providing support for people with disabilities.

CHRIS>> Hello, everybody. This is Chris Bellias; I'm the Director of Employment Services for individuals with disabilities, as Edison mentioned. I just want to give an overview of the programs that we offer. We have customized employment, employment through the State. We specialize in people who have all skills, all ages, living with some type of disability...mental illness, physical disability, some chronic disease...and we prepare them for competitive, integrated employment.

Currently, we serve about 250 people each year, and we place about 100 into integrated employment. That includes Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Next slide, please.

Some of the additional services that we offer are benefits counseling. The point of this presentation is to talk about the inclusive pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship programs that we have.

Next slide, please.

I'm going to hand it back to my associate Edison.

EDISON>> Thank you, Chris.

To summarize again, an apprenticeship is a full-time job; and as a registered apprenticeship program, that means that it is recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor. Apprentices not only receive industry-recognized credentials but upon completion of the apprenticeship, obtain a credential from the Department of Labor that says they have completed a program and recognizes that person as a skilled worker in a particular trade, craft, or job.

Next, please.

So to summarize the five core components of a registered apprenticeship, it's that an employer is involved from the very beginning in developing the apprenticeship, in developing the plan for on-the-job training, as well as the classroom training that typically can be as low as 144 hours, and develop the wage progression as a reward for the skills that are gained through the apprenticeship and ensure that at the end the apprentice leaves the program and obtains the national occupational credential that says they've completed the apprenticeship and are a skilled worker.

Next slide, please.

So an apprenticeship can be in the trades, and it can look like this. You can become an entry carpenter that needs to become over time, typically five years, into a master carpenter. In the health sector, you can come into an opportunity as a medical assistant; that can give you an opening to enter further into a medical side of the healthcare. You can move on to being a nurse. You can move on to be a supervisor of nurses. On this other side there may not be as much around health...to manage an office and supervise the business side of health.

In retail, you can enter into the sales and move on again to management...to managing a store. So these are opportunities that build career pathways using an apprenticeship model.

Next slide, please.

Along that career pathway opportunity is the thought of how do I ensure that my education aligns to the on-the-job training but also aligns in terms of my goals when I think of myself as an apprentice in terms of how to move to one job higher in the ladder of opportunity that do two things for me...give me the opportunity for a higher salary but also allow me to grow professionally and personally?

Next slide.

SARAH>> Edison and Carolyn, thank you very much for all that great information on apprenticeship. 

Before we move on, I just wanted to remind everyone that if there's any links that were read today that you missed or that you were interested in looking into further, they are available in the "Web Links" pod to the right-hand side of your screen; and you can access those at any point.

Let's go ahead and take a look at some of the questions we have. The first question is for Edison: "Is there an age requirement for the apprenticeship program?"

EDISON>> Yes, typically it needs to be anyone over 16 years of age; and an apprenticeship is a full-time job. So typically, that's a minimum 30 hours to 40 hours a week that somebody needs to commit to.

SARAH>> Great, thank you so much. The next question I have is also for Edison, and it is: "What is the length of an apprenticeship generally?" I know there are a lot of different ones, but how long does that usually last?

EDISON>> So I think it's typically one to five years in the trade; that means the construction trade...the plumber, the carpenter, the welder. Typically, the apprenticeship lasts anywhere between four and five years. The reason is that really practice makes perfect, so it requires a lot of practice on the job to be able to complete an apprenticeship. However, in what we're calling the non-traditional sectors, there may be opportunities to learn faster and attain the skill that you need to complete the job in shorter periods. 

Here in Philadelphia, we're working with certain employers that are looking for entry-level computer technicians; that is help desk support, computer repair folks, people that can support the users of technology. And we're building a program that can be a year to two years in length. In healthcare traditionally in some of the entry-level positions, such as the one I just mentioned...medical assistant...they can also be one to two years. So part of where we can find more information is when you're looking for apprenticeship opportunities in your area, usually the period that you have to commit is identified in that description.

CHRIS>> This is Chris. I just want to add that I think it's important to reiterate that it might be a one- to five-year program, but the apprentice is paid through that time period. So it's not like you have to graduate to get the job. You have a job, and you're getting paid as you go through the apprenticeship.

SARAH>> Okay, great...thank you both for that. I have another question for Edison: "Is the Apprenticeship program available all across the United States? Is it available in most cities across the country?"

EDISON>> The opportunity most people can find in their cities is apprenticeships in the trades; that is, I'd mentioned the construction, plumbing, electrical, carpentry. But also, if you have a One-Stop career center, I would urge you to visit that center and ask what apprenticeship opportunities are prevalent in your area. They could be in retail; they could be in the hospitality sector; they can be also in, like I said, IT or healthcare. Typically apprenticeships are employer-driven, so what the job opportunities exist in your region is most likely where apprenticeships could also exist.

SARAH>> Great, Edison, multiple people are asking...can you repeat the cut-off age for apprenticeship programs; and is it the same across the nation, or is it dependent on your area?

EDISON>> By law, it's minimally 16 years; but typically, most employers are looking for folks who are over 18 and have completed their high school education.

SARAH>> Okay, great. This question is for Carolyn: "Are all apprenticeships paid?"

CAROLYN>> Hi, most of the apprenticeships are paid; however, some of the pre-apprenticeships are not paid. Pre-apprenticeships actually help those who are not yet ready to go into apprenticeship programs. It prepares them for entry into an apprenticeship program; but the registered apprenticeship, the industry-recognized programs, are paid apprenticeships.

SARAH>> Okay, and do you recommend that younger ages look into pre-apprenticeship?

CAROLYN>> Well, it depends on where they're at. So it depends on the level of competency. If they're able to navigate the on-the-job training and the in-classroom instructions and they feel that they can do so if they're 16 or over, I would certainly encourage them to look into the registered or industry-recognized apprenticeship programs. But if they're not there yet, I would have them take a look at the pre-apprenticeship program and kind of weigh the pros and cons of each. They can do that by working with someone at the One-Stop or American Job Centers; or if they have a vocational rehabilitation trainer connection, they should do that as well. Or if they're working with a career development coach, they can work with them to see whether or not that's the best option for them.

SARAH>> Okay, I have another question for you, Carolyn: "How do you find out if an apprenticeship is part of the ODEP Apprenticeship Program?"

CAROLYN>> The Apprenticeship-Finder tool...the link is available, or you can go to a One-Stop. What you simply do is you key in your zip code, or you key into the area in which you're interested in going into. That will bring up all the apprenticeships in that specific area.

SARAH>> Excellent...thank you so much for that. The next question is up for grabs, so whoever feels that they want to answer it can go for it: "How do you recommend referencing apprenticeships on my résumé or a job application or within an interview?"

CHRIS>> This is Chris; I can kind of jump in on that one. To be quite honest, I view it as regular education. It hasn't come up yet in the slides, but you actually walk away with credentials I can take to other employers and do other job searching with. So again, I just view it as experience and education when speaking to employers.

CAROLYN>> This is Carolyn. I would definitely list it as work experience on my résumé because that's exactly what it is...is work experience. And the educational part, I would list it under education because it's both work experience and education.

EDISON>> This is Edison. Often apprenticeships also allow you to attain industry credentials or certifications, but it also allows you to also build out in your résumé certifications or other types of licensure that you may have been able to attain through the apprenticeship.

CAROLYN>> That's a really good point, Edison; and the credentials obtained during this process....meaning, after you complete the apprenticeship program...those credentials are portable. That simply means that you can take the credentials from one state to another state.

SARAH>> Okay, great, and we had some participants ask if this applies to both SSI and SSDI recipients. Just to let you know, we'll be talking a lot about the Ticket program and apprenticeships later in the program; so we'll be addressing a lot of those questions, so we're going to hold off on that.

Another question I have for the group: "Do I need to submit a résumé and go for an interview to find an apprenticeship?"

EDISON>> This is Edison. Think of the apprenticeship as a job...so, yes, everything you would do to prepare for a job goes for the apprenticeship...preparing for an interview, having a résumé ready, and applying as a job. The difference, as we said, is that the employer has agreed to potentially look at somebody and say, "Aha, that person is somebody I'm interested in providing training both on the job and paying," and I neglected to say this, "...and paying for their education at an institution or to attain credentials that are needed for the job." So this is about getting additional education at no cost to the apprentice.

CHRIS>> This is Chris. I can kind of add into some of the maybe behind-the-scenes of it with my job notice developers. I think a lot of the comments we get from employers we speak to is that the clients you represent may not have a job for a period of time, or they may not have all the qualifications of job duties required for the task. We can use the apprenticeship to kind of bridge that gap. So in a sense, it kind of is traditional integrated employment; but there are extra benefits, if you will, for the employer and to the apprentice.

SARAH>> Excellent, thank you so much: "Is the 40 hours per week all on-the-job work, or does it include some classroom training as well?"

EDISON>> This is Edison. It depends on the employer. Some employers send their apprentices to do classroom instruction during the work hours, and some employers require the education to be outside of the work hours. Typically, we work locally in Philadelphia to ensure that the employer is able to include the training hours as part of the working hours.

[Pause]

SARAH>> "Are apprenticeships typically part-time or full-time hours? Can they vary by the different jobs or apprenticeships?"

EDISON>> This is Edison. A registered apprenticeship is a full-time job; and typically, an employer defines a full-time job as minimally around 30 hours to 40 hours. So if you're looking for a registered apprenticeship opportunity, you're really looking at that window of work hours...30 to 40 hours. But as I stated earlier, those 30 or 40 hours could include training hours that the employer sends the apprentice to an educational institution.

CHRIS>> This is Chris. I'd like to add that I think it's cogent...I think the overall view of this position is to tie into the Ticket to Work. I know a lot of people who might be scared about the benefits...be it cash or medical benefits. Ticket can be a great way to help navigate those choppy waters.

SARAH>> Thank you for that. Next question is: "Can you participate in an apprenticeship remotely?"

EDISON>> This is Edison again. Yes, as more opportunities are created where somebody can report virtually to an employer, there are opportunities to build a remote apprenticeship. I know of at least two cases. One is about a national company that hires people who work at home and specifically cases about medical billing. That's helping hospitals figure out how to bill for services they provide and also medical coding, which is another service the hospital needs to identify expenses in the services they provide. These are two careers that you can work from home, and these are two careers that apprenticeships have been developed for. These are just a couple of examples, and I'm sure there are more. One resource to check in is the One-Stop that may have other opportunities in your area to explore.

CAROLYN>> Hi, this is Carolyn. I know that working remotely, particularly in the IT field as it relates to apprenticeship, is a hot topic right now. I know of two examples of companies who are actually doing that in terms of recruiting apprentices to do computer programming and things of that nature.

SARAH>> All right, thank you all for your answers. The next question is: "Do I need to have any training or knowledge of the field before applying for an apprenticeship?"

EDISON>> This is Edison. No, you don't if the employer who you interview sees a potential to bring you on as an apprentice. But traditionally, employers are also looking at folks for candidates who have some experience in the field or some career exposure. Carolyn alluded a little bit to the idea of a pre-apprenticeship experience, which is a non-paid opportunity to work as an apprentice in some ways but in a setting where you're doing more of a career exposure...learning about the job, learning about the requirements and what skills that one needs to develop, what kind of education one needs to pursue and so forth. Chris, when he does his part of the presentation, will go into detail about a specific program that we've developed to prepare young people to be excellent candidates for an apprenticeship.

SARAH>> Excellent, we have time for one more question; and then we're going to wrap up this question portion ad keep moving on. The question is for Chris; you had mentioned healthcare: "Do apprenticeships typically have health insurance as a benefit?"

CHRIS>> Yes, I think again the overall theme of apprenticeship is that this is a job. So if it's either through SSI or SSDI with the employer, it's handled just like any other job. Again, the overall theme is Ticket to Work. So with the benefits counseling, a beneficiary can be canceled; and that would be the best pathway for them.

SARAH>> All right, excellent... thank you, Carolyn, Edison and, of course, Chris. Although we have more questions for you, we're going to stop here and keep moving forward and learn about how to spread the word about Ticket to Work. Just another reminder that today's webinar is being recorded, and a copy of it will be available in two weeks on the Choose Work website, which can be accessed at: http://bit.ly/WISEarchives.

It is my pleasure to introduce two more individuals to today's webinar. One of them you already met. Chris Bellias is currently the Director of Employment Services at JEVS hireAbility. Chris has 12 years of experience assisting individuals with disabilities in various capacities. In his current role with hireAbility, Chris oversees five programs that specialize in supporting individuals with disabilities in returning to their employment. 

We also have with us Angelina Bush. She is an Assistant Director of Benefits Counseling at Community Integrated Services, an agency that provides community-based employment services to youth and adults with disabilities. Angelina counsels individuals and actively works to advise the communities about benefits counseling. 

I'm going to start by passing it off to Chris. Thank you.

CHRIS>> Okay, so I think it's important to --there's a lot of information to pass on to kind of maybe give some real-life examples of how apprenticeship actually play out. So what I want to do is go over a career planning and assessment; pre-apprenticeships, which were mentioned by Carolyn; apprenticeships; and then retention.

Next slide, please.

What we usually begin with when we see a new beneficiary is career planning and assessment. The services we offer is what we consider to be a traditional assessment, which is a 30-day assessment with one of our evaluators. We have work assessments, which would be based in the community; and then one-on-one career counseling. During this time would be the time that we would decide on if the apprenticeship is a good fit for the individual.

Next slide, please.

So what is a career apprenticeship?

As we've mentioned a few times but not really explained, it's basically a preparation for registering an apprenticeship. What does that mean? It's building those work-ready skills...technical training, career exposure through job shadowing and internship, and then after all that doing the actual connecting to the registered apprenticeship. It's kind of a sense to give the individual a chance to explore the job, see the job firsthand, and then get kind of the foundation training for that job.

Next slide, please.

Other groups and services at JEVS that give a real-life example, is we have what we call pre-employment transition services, PreETS; career readiness; job shadowing; work-based learning; and structural support. That could run the gamut of doing on-the-job site internships; job shadowing...we actually go to a job site to see the job, speak to the employees, speak to the management staff, to kind of learn the ins and outs of the job, some of the educational training. We have classrooms to talk about job readiness...what does it mean to have a job/to hold a job. Then we can kind of go into the technical skills, which would be on the next slide.

A good example is a program we have called JEVS IT Career Readiness. Another example would be Project Connect. In this program, we take young individuals who have autism and we teach them IT skills, coding language. We recently just had a showcase open to friends and families where individuals actually built websites and other projects. We invited employers and the families to actually see firsthand all the good stuff that the clients have been producing. Then that's going to be followed by on-the-job shadowing and then into internships.

Next slide, please.

That's where we go into the apprenticeship, the main point of this presentation. That involves instructional support, counseling, job development, and mentorship from other employers. This is where you're going to have the meat and potatoes, if you will, of doing the technical training...be it through a college or many other places like Carolyn mentioned. 

Then the job development...as we said, this is a job; that's where our counselors come in...to help do the job development piece, to connect the job seeker to the job, speaking to with the employers; setting everything up. It may be the accommodations; it may be the apprenticeship itself. Then during the (inaudible), that's the mentorship. That is, as Edison mentioned, buy-in by the employer. That could be in supervision. That could be in just having someone as a mentor to watch over the apprentice and help them grow in the job.

Next slide, please.

As we alluded to in the questions, you walk away with credentials with this program. Here is an example of somebody who became a machinist. They could take this to other employers; they could put this on their résumés. There's (inaudible), education, and real-work experience.

Next slide, please.

Then as someone gets placed into an apprenticeship, the key is retention. They don't just want to place somebody into a job; you want them to get a job and keep a job. That's where we would do the job coaching. That can be ala carte. It could be a job coach actually going to the job site; it could be behind the scenes, over the phone, or occasional check-ins. It doesn't have to be having someone next to you, but we do have some of our clients who like to have that additional support.

Then building natural supports...that's to environmental, that's accommodations and buy-in from the employer to help someone who has a job keep a job. Then ongoing counseling as needed, and that could be for benefits or that could be just for ongoing job counseling. 

I think a key point about a lot of the questions in the previous comment portion that came up was benefits. So I really think now is a good time to move on to the next phase, which would be the Ticket to Work and the tie-in to someone with benefits counseling. So I'd like to hand this over now to Angelina with CIS.

Oops, I'm sorry, excuse me. I'm going to hand it over to Edison.

EDISON>> This is Edison again. We wanted to give the audience the opportunity to meet Derek, who is a graduate of a pre-apprenticeship and a registered apprenticeship program in the IT sector. He currently works at a local hospital. Unfortunately, his boss called him on an urgent task, which is to take care of this computer system in the operating rooms. As you can tell, that's a very critical job; and he was not able to complete the job in time to join us. So this is an opportunity to do a little reflection with Derek about how an apprenticeship program jump-started his career and met his passion for the IT world and at the same time provided to him the support that he needed to develop into an IT professional, even though he had to struggle throughout his early formative career as a student and as an entry-level IT person with the fact that he's hard of hearing. 

So a little bit about Derek...Derek graduated from high school in Philadelphia. After he finished his high school, he was at a crossroads. He wanted to understand what his passion was. He knew he was interested in technology but just did not want to continue to go to college because his experience in the high school had been difficult. As a person hard of hearing, it was hard for him to engage fully in some of the advanced classes and obtain the accommodations that he wanted to fully explore the IT sector.

He decided that perhaps having real-life experience in a job was the best way to think about what his next steps were. So he contacted us at the School District of Philadelphia where we were running a pre-apprenticeship program, which was set up as a one-year experience to be a junior technician and shadow a technician and learn how to take care of the technology on the job. At the same time, in the after-school time, he was given the opportunity to provide his experiences to his younger peers through a club. So he helped manage an after-school club to let other young people explore the IT world.

So between shadowing a master technician and the fact that he was exposed to being now a leader and overcoming the sort of stigma of being hard of hearing and providing this service to other students, he gained the confidence, one; but he gained, most importantly, the professional experiences that led him to feel that he was ready for the next step. The next step was he wanted to be an IT professional.

We were able to accept him to the district's IT program, and he fast-tracked that. That was a three-year program that he finished in two years, very successfully; and in many ways, Derek was a leader in developing opportunities for other young people who faced similar barriers within the district because he did two things. He was, one, one of our best apprentices because he actually often taught his mentor around IT; and, two, he demonstrated to the folks around him that a disability does not need to be a barrier to being part of a team. 

So we learned to accommodate his need of being part of the team by ensuring that, one, we always had a translator to help with anything that was difficult but most importantly, two, understanding how to be inclusive of his perspective and how his perspective enriched the services we provided to other computer users – how we need to be sensitive to other folks who may have difficulty in using the technology because of their disability.

Derek completed his program. He got a certificate of proficiency from a local community college as a computer and systems network proficient certificate technician at no cost to him. An opportunity arose for Derek to then move on and practically double his salary, be promoted, and have additional responsibilities at a new job at a local hospital. But more importantly, he's been able to parlay that job into an opportunity to continue his education and the employer paying, through tuition reimbursement, the bachelor's degree that he's pursuing.

So a pre-apprenticeship experience led Derek into an apprenticeship experience, which now has led him to be a professional in a field that traditionally is difficult for folks to get into...particularly people that face barriers such as disabilities. This has become more commonplace as employers realize that talent is all around them, and the apprenticeship model is one way to, one, identify that talent, nurture the talent, and develop the talent so that they add to the company value.

So we wanted to share that a little bit in terms of that story. Derek is featured in what we call the Apprenticeship Series Videos that later in this presentation Carolyn will be sharing with you. 

I'm turning it back to the moderator. Thank you.

SARAH>> All right, thank you so much, Edison. I'm going to turn it over to Angelina Bush to continue.

ANGELINA>> Good afternoon, everyone. This portion of the presentation will go over how receiving benefits from Social Security can help you get connected to resources for employment.

Next slide, please.

The Ticket to Work program is designed to help adults who receive benefits from the Social Security Administration. The two different types of benefits are Social Security Disability Insurance, which is known as SSDI, and Supplemental Security Income, which is often known as SSI. Having these benefits gives access to the Ticket to Work program, which can help you find and maintain employment.

Next slide.

People choose to work for many different reasons. Only you can decide if work is right for you. One of the reasons beneficiaries go to work is to earn more income, gain financial independence, meet new people, or learn new skills. There are many more reasons people decide to work. The list may help you think about why you may want to work.

Next slide.

The Ticket to Work program is here to help you while you are deciding if work is right for you and to support you with finding and maintaining employment. If you currently receive SSDI or SSI benefits based on having a disability and are between the ages of 18 through 64, you are eligible to use the Ticket to Work program. The Ticket to Work program is free and voluntary. The goal of using the Ticket to Work program is to help beneficiaries work towards financial independence. While you are using this program, you will receive support on your employment path.

Next slide

When you are ready to sign up for the Ticket to Work program, you can decide to work with an employment network or the State agencies, which is called vocational rehabilitation. Different providers can help you in different ways, so it is important to work with a provider that can help you with what your goals and needs are. There are many different services you can receive from employment networks. Some of them are job coaching, training, job counseling, benefit counseling, and job placement services. It's important to find out what services you will be given when you are looking for an employment network or vocational rehabilitation agency.

Next slide.

Community Integrated Services is an employment network through the Ticket to Work program and a partner agency with JEVS. CIS works with beneficiaries to help them find and maintain employment. The services CIS provides are career counseling and planning, help with searching for jobs which can include résumé development, interview preparation, it can help with applications. CIS also provides ongoing support for when a beneficiary is employed, as well as benefit counseling and guidance for requesting accommodations in the workplace. Remember that Community Integrated Services is one employment network and one type of provider through the Ticket to Work program.

Next slide.

SARAH>> Thank you, Edison, Chris, and Angelina for all of that information. We do have some questions for you. I'm going to start off with a question for Angelina: "Does this apply to SSI and SSDI participants?" We had discussed that earlier and wanted to see if you could discuss that a little bit further.

ANGELINA>> So individuals who receive those benefits would be eligible for the Ticket to Work program and the Apprenticeship program. How someone's benefits would be impacted due to working is very person-specific, and I would recommend using a benefits counselor...likely through the Work Incentive Planning and Assistance program.

SARAH>> Excellent...thank you, Angelina. 

"Have you ever helped anyone who wanted to be an apprentice? Can you tell us a little bit more about that if so?"

CHRIS>> This is Chris. I'm going to jump in on that question. At this point, we've helped dozens and dozens. If you go back to the slide set I went over with that program Project Connect, not only through the grants and through the apprenticeship grants have we helped them gain employment, but we also wrote into it benefits counseling. Myself, I am a CBC, which is a certified benefits counselor, was able to give them ongoing support and them navigate the changes to their benefit status.

SARAH>> Angelina, do you want to jump in with some of your apprenticeship experiences as well?

ANGELINA>> As the employment network, we don't have as much to do with the apprenticeship programs; but we do counsel beneficiaries on how their benefits are impacted when they're working.

SARAH>> Okay, can you tell us a little bit more about that and some experiences you've had?

ANGELINA>> I will say that working is good for beneficiaries, and using the Apprenticeship program for traditional employment initially helps people to have more financial independence and earning more money and there's more stability in the household.

SARAH>> Okay, great...Angelina, this question is for you: "Can you explain what a benefits counselor is?"

ANGELINA>> Sure, a benefits counselor is someone who can help the beneficiaries learn about their benefits and learn about specifically what will happen to their benefits when they go to work. It's a very individualized and should be a personal experience, so I would recommend reaching out and checking out who your local...they're called WIPA, it's W-I-P-A...and it stands for work incentive planning and assistance. That is a place where beneficiaries can get free and personalized information on how their benefits will be impacted if/when they return to work.

SARAH>> Excellent...the next question is up for grabs: "Does CIS serve beneficiaries across the country?"

ANGELINA>> CIS does not serve beneficiaries across the country. We serve individuals in the Philadelphia area and in the state of Delaware. I would say if someone is looking for an agency like CIS, it would be an employment network; and Social Security has a website. I'm going to repeat the link for that website as a place where you can search for employment networks in your area. That website is: https://ChooseWork.ssa.gov. 

SARAH>> Great...how does an individual apply for the Ticket to Work program?

ANGELINA>> If the individual is someone who is between the ages of 18 and 64 and/or they benefit from Social Security...so either SSDI or SSI...based on having a disability, then they are already eligible for the Ticket to Work program. 

SARAH>> "What other types of training does JEVS provide?"

CHRIS>> That actually comes down just to the participants' experience. We have anybody who has an extensive background and is looking at getting into the job force to people who are looking for entry-level. So we kind of cater the services that we offer to the needs of the individual.

SARAH>> Great, thank you so much. 

"Can I become an apprentice and use my Ticket to Work? What happens if I'm not able to complete the apprenticeship and have to go back on benefits?"

CHRIS>> This is Chris again. I can jump in on that. Again, this is the same as a job. So as Angelina mentioned, if you meet up with a WIPA counselor or a Ticket counselor...JEVS includes a lot of ticket agencies who have benefits counselors involved with the ticket services. They would treat this like any other job. And again, as Angelina mentioned, it's kind of very specific to go into extreme details; but it's not as scary as people think. I think I might just leave it at that.

SARAH>> Okay, does anyone else have an answer for that?

ANGELINA>> This is Angelina. I'd also like to just kind of say what Chris just said...is that how benefit work when someone goes back to work. I don't think this is the platform to really go into the specifics because there are a lot of people on this call and a lot of different benefits and a lot of questions that would spark from that. But I will say that Social Security has work incentives, which help people go back to work. And having a counselor there to help you understand what happens can help you feel more comfortable with going back to work and also reporting to Social Security when work starts, as well as if it doesn't work out then you can report that back to Social Security as well...that you're not working anymore. So then your benefits can be reinstated.

SARAH>> "How have you mentored to provide assistance as part of the JEVS program?"

EDISON>> This is Edison. The idea of the mentor is somebody that guides you on the job and provides that sort of direct support to learning a skill, mastering a competency, mastering the job. So it could go from somebody that actually oversees directly usually a particular task to somebody that checks in that gives you feedback as to what you're doing. So it depends on the particular job.

For example, jobs that require a lot of hands-on experience...really building something with your hands...so I'm going to take an example like being a tailor or a master seamstress. It would require somebody showing you how to do those specific skills and then evaluating the quality of the product that you produce as opposed to somebody in, let's say, an IT job, which might be more about checking in with somebody, getting the type of job guide related to what needs to be done, and then checking from time to time as you develop a product to ensure that you're delivering what you need, and then giving the feedback to improve that product.

The most important thing about thinking about a mentor is that this is actually somebody that is investing to ensure that you succeed...so this is somebody that often can turn into more than just a supervisor on the job. It's somebody that can provide some coaching beyond just the job because folks that usually are picked to be mentors are experienced people in the job that have been there for a long time and can give somebody...especially somebody who is young and starting early in their career...a lot of feedback around not just the job but in general how to grow professionally in a particular field. 

SARAH>> Thank you for that.

"In the Ticket to Work program, how do ENs support job placement employment networks?"

ANGELINA>> This is Angelina. I can take that question. So employment networks do a variety of services. Each employment network can work a little bit differently; for example, community integrated services. We have more of a hands-on approach, where we may help beneficiaries connect with employment for different companies that they're looking at to apply to. Other employment networks may have more of a hands-off approach, where they give you the tools so you then feel comfortable approaching employers and companies on your own to talk about employment. It's all really based upon (inaudible) and what you are looking for as far as help. 

If you need more hands-on help, you might want to look for an employment network that does more hands-on work; of if you're someone who doesn't want that, doesn't need that, you can look for an employment network that's not as hands-on and won't talk to employers with you. 

SARAH>> Thank you, Angelina. The next question is for Chris: "Can I request accommodations for an apprenticeship work site?"

CHRIS>> Yes, you can. That would be something that you would advocate for yourself; or if you don't feel comfortable doing that, you can speak about that with...as in the case of JEVS, speak with the job counselor and they could do that on your behalf. We always kind of always push for the clients to self-advocate; but again, we're here to give support. So we are more than willing to do that on behalf of the client.

SARAH>> Excellent, thank you. 

Angelina, I actually have a follow-up to a previous question of how do ENs support job placement: "Can an EN help me request accommodations?"

ANGELINA>> Yes, that would be, again, dependent upon the employment network that you're working with and what that interaction is with the employer. I'll say our employment network has helped the beneficiary talk to the employer, so we've been present and had a presence requesting accommodations. Other times, we will guide our beneficiary in what to ask and how to say things with their employer to request accommodations. So it can work either way.

SARAH>> This question is for anyone: "How do I find out the specific salary for an apprenticeship?"

CHRIS>> So if somebody is looking for an apprenticeship opportunity, usually the employer would explain what the salary schedule is for an apprenticeship because that's part of informing somebody who is interested in apprenticeship what the job and the compensation entails. Typically, as I said earlier, an apprentice will start between 50% to 60% of the traditional salary of somebody who comes in with the skill. So if we're looking at a job that pays $20, the starting salary could start anywhere between $10 and $12 usually; but then quickly, the salary will increase as the apprentice obtains skills, meets with target goals for that position. 

If it's a one- to two-year program, the schedule is very accelerated. It would be six-month increments that the wage increases.

SARAH>> Great, we have many more questions; but we're going to move forward with today's event. We're out of time for questions for today's webinar. If we were not able to answer your question, you can reach out to the Ticket to Work Help Line at 866-968-7843 or for TTY, 1-866-833-2967. 

I'm going to turn it over to Carolyn to go over some of the resources.

CAROLYN>> Thanks, Sarah.

We have a number of apprenticeship resources that I would like share with you guys today.

Next slide, please.

Earlier, Edison provided you with Derek's story. If you want to watch his story, you can watch the ApprenticeshipWorks Video Series. That video series is available in both English and Spanish. It's also captioned, and it features youth apprentices with and without disabilities and their employer sponsors. You can watch the series by accessing: http://bit.ly/apprenticeship-video. 

We also have an Apprenticeship Toolkit, which provides resources and a support for employer engagement in a registered apprenticeship program specifically for engaging youth and adults. If you want more information on that, you can visit: http://bit.ly/aprenticeship-toolkit.

Next slide, please.

We talked about how you'd go about finding an apprenticeship opportunity in your area. This Apprenticeship Tool-Finder will help you do exactly that. So if you're interested in finding an apprenticeship in your area, all you would do is go to this link which I will provide, type in your zip code or type in the career field in which you're looking to find an apprenticeship, and they will come up in your area. The address for that is: www.Apprenticeship.gov.

The apprenticeship and the American Dream Blog, Derek is also featured in that. So this blog talks about his story as a pre-apprentice and an apprentice. If you're interested in reading the story, you can go to: http://bit.ly/dol-blog.

Next slide, please.

We also have apprenticeship guides. The apprenticeship guides provide information regarding the Apprenticeship program. It specifically talks about the benefits of apprenticeship, and part of it is three specific audiences. We have one for individuals, which means you guys that are on the line. We also have one for educators. We have another one for service providers, and we have one for businesses. 

If you want to download or look at the Youth Apprenticeship Guide, you can go to: http://bit.ly.dol-individuals.

If you're interested in the Apprenticeship Guide for Educators and Service Providers, you can download or view online at http://bit.ly/dol-educators.

Lastly, if employers or businesses are interested in obtaining a copy of the Apprenticeship Guide, they can do so by going to http://bit.ly.dol-business.

Next slide, please.

Someone asked about accommodations. Now, DOL ODEP, has a technical assistance center called JAN, Job Accommodations Network. They provide free expert guidance...confidential guidance...on workplace accommodations. You can reach them through many, many different ways. 

One way you can reach them is simply by downloading an app on your phone called app JAN. The website for that is simply www.askJAN.org. You can also call them. They have a toll free number: 1-800-526-7234, which is a voice number. They also have TTY, and that number is 1-877-781-9403. You can also send them a text and they will text you back. The text number is 1-304-216-8189. You can also skype them, and you can go on your computer and do a live chat. Hopefully one of those ways provides a good connection to them to chat about whatever you want. Again, it's free and it's confidential.

With that, I will toss it back to Sarah.

SARAH>> Carolyn, thank you so much...as well as Edison, Chris, and Angelina for all of your information today. There are many ways to stay in touch with us. You can call the Ticket to Work help line at 1-866-968-7842 or for TTY, 1-866-833-2967. Or you can always visit the Ticket to Work website at ChooseWork.ssa.gov.

Just a reminder, all of the links that Carolyn just went over and all of the links from today... go ahead and find those in the "Web Links" pod if you want to review those. You can also connect to us by liking us on Facebook @ChooseWork, following us on Twitter @ChooseWorkssa, subscribing to our YouTube channel, @ChooseWork and/or following us on LinkedIn @Ticket-to-work.

Please join us for the live webinar which will be held on Wednesday, December 19, 2018, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Registration is open for that webinar. To register online, go to Choosework.ssa.gov/WISE, or you can call 866-968-7842 or for TTY, 866-833-2967.

Don't forget to give us your feedback, which is very important to us. Please provide your feedback and tell us what you thought of today's webinar by taking our survey. You can take this at ChooseWork.ssa.gov/surveys/WISE. 

Thank you again for attending today's event, and please take the opportunity to reach out to any of the many resources we discussed today and take the next step on your career path. We have resources and support services to help you no matter what stage you are at in your journey to financial independence. Thank you.