Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities

 

Software helps jobseekers with
disabilities navigate the world of
job hunting; © panthermedia.net/
Wavebreakmedia ltd

Kessler Foundation awarded a Signature Employment Grant in the amount of 425,000 Dollars to the Office of Research Services at the University of Hawaii, to advance employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

The Signature Employment Grant supports the development of a virtual reality (VR) software application, EmployAble: A World Without Barriers, to help jobseekers with disabilities navigate the world of job hunting and adapt to the workplace.

This Virtual Employment Orientation and Support Centre, the first of its kind, will enable people with disabilities, including veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI), to learn job and interviewing skills, build their resumes, and be mentored and matched with potential employers.

EmployAble will be developed by a team of innovative researchers and developers, many of whom have disabilities. "Kessler Foundation supports programs that help solve the high unemployment rate for people with disabilities," said Rodger DeRose of Kessler Foundation. "EmployAble is especially important because TBI is the signature wound of our military returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. We need to apply new technologies to our efforts to ensure these veterans' successful reintegration into society."

EmployAble will draw on innovative components of commercial VR software programs including Multiple User Virtual Environments (MUVE), Second Life (SL) Virtual World Simulation (SIM). Employable will simulate social interactions in the workplace and demonstrate commonly used assistive technology, for example screen readers, captioning video programs, accessible document creation, presentation programs utilising accessible features (VoiceThread, Adobe Flash), and text-to-speech software.

Participating employers will also learn about supports and accommodations that lead to productive, satisfied employees.

REHACARE.de; Source: Kessler Foundation