EMPLOYER TOOLBOX​

What are innovative workforce solutions business use today?

Employees with disabilities bring unique experiences and understanding that can transform a workplace and enhance products and services. Discover how your business can create more efficient and effective business processes, develop and implement management strategies to attract and retain a qualified, talented and diverse workforce, and use technology in new ways to increase productivity.

Quick Tips: Job Seekers & Employees with Disabilities offers innovative strategies that can be easily implemented to help diversify your workforce .Quick Tips Fact Sheet 

Customized Employment

Customized Employment is designed to match the specific needs of a business  with the strengths and interests of the employee. Using customized employment strategies can address specific conditions within your business and assist in retaining valuable staff, offering a targeting approach to match individualized skill sets with the organizations needs. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy offers extended resources on this strategy.  

Best Practices

• In Maryland: A successful customized employment partnership Montgomery County, MD resulted in a full-time, customized file clerk position.
  
• Nationally: Project Search creates customized jobs for individuals with disabilities with the Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
  

Customized Training

Customized training provides your business with training opportunities for new and existing employees to acquire and develop essential workplace and industry specific skills. Customized training programs can provide your organization with training, certification, and other key credentials to introduce and upgrade skills. This type of training is critical to workforce retention and businesses’ continued success.   

Resources In Maryland

Check out several of the customized training programs in Maryland that can assist your business.  Inform the training entity you are working with to specify your interest in recruiting, hiring, training and retaining workers with disabilities.

• ​Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
  Partnership for Workforce Quality : Provides skill upgrade training grants targeted at improving the competitive position of small and mid-sized manufacturing and technology companies.  

• Maryland Higher Education Commission: Several of the higher education institutions in Maryland provide customized training programs to businesses.  Connect with the institution in your local area and ask for their Workforce Training Department.  

• ​Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Rehabilitation Services Maryland Workforce Technology Center
  

​Customized Training Program : Customized Training involves a partnership between an employer and the Workforce Technology Center where the employer identifies specific employment openings and training is designed to fit the needs of the employer. Contact 410-554-9127 or dors@maryland.gov​ to learn more.  

Telework
Telework, also known as telecommuting, “…is more than working from home; it is the practice of working remotely and securely from any place, at any time.”  With the option to telework, far more individuals with disabilities can provide the services needed to keep businesses working efficiently and effectively from any place at any time, utilizing the most technologically advanced devices.

Best Practices:

• Nationally: Telework Exchange provides case studies and success stories as well as information and resources about telework and employees with disabilities.
  

Resources to Innovate

Maryland

• ​Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED)
  Partnership for Workforce Quality  DBED provides matching skill upgrade training grants and support services targeted to improve the competitive position of small and mid-sized manufacturing and technology companies. 
  
  
• ​Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS)
  Maryland Workforce Technology Center (Customized Training Program)
  DORS assists with partnerships between an employer and the Workforce Technology Center where the employer identifies specific employment openings and training is designed to fit the needs of the employer.  
  
  
• Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)
  MHEC is responsible for establishing statewide policies for Maryland is public and private colleges and universities and for-profit career schools. Several of the higher education institutions in Maryland provide customized training programs to businesses.  Connect with the institution in your local area and ask for their Workforce Training Department. 

Nationally

• Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
  Project Search provides employment and education opportunities to individuals with disabilities and is dedicated to workforce development that benefits the individual, community, and workplace.

• U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)  ODEP provides national leadership on disability employment policy by developing and influencing the use of evidence-based disability employment policies and practices, building collaborative partnerships, and delivering authoritative and credible data on employment of people with disabilities.