[infoshare] CSR Training Program
- From: "Steve & Shannon" <shaste1011@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <infoshare@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:26:54 -0400
Hello,
My name is Steve Cook and I work for the SC Commission for the Blind. I
would like to let you know about a wonderful opportunity for the blind. We
have an Alamo and National car rental training program here in South
Carolina. Alamo and National car rental has a call center located in South
Carolina and in Utah. Read the below information and please feel free to
distribute it to the blind community in your area. After you have read over
this information, get back in touch with me if you have any questions.
A NEW EMPLOYMENT FRONTIER IN EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BLIND
A REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT
Technological advances and a changing economy forced the South Carolina
Commission for the Blind to be creative and develop a different approach to
training and placement for our blind consumers. We had successfully placed a
number of blind people in Tele-communications with the Vanguard Rental
Corporation, the owners of Alamo and National Car Rentals. These placements
were prefaced with individual training and a lot of experimenting with
assistive technology. How could we develop a training program in
Tele-communications that trained groups of prospective employees, and where
could we go to get the technical assistance to adapt tele-communications
software to the assistive technology essential for our blind consumers? We
concluded it could happen with a partnership with private industry.
THE PARTNERSHIP
Vanguard Rental Corporation was a willing partner because of their positive
experiences with their blind employees. They brought to the partnership
technical assistance, equipment, software and financial participation. With
a contractual relationship, the private sector partner not only provides
placement to everyone trained on their programs: but also allows training
for other employers with adapted software. In addition to training for
Vanguard Rental Corporation, training and placement programs are established
with Drivers' Choice Insurance Company and Wells Fargo Mortgage Company.
PREPARING FOR TRAINING
The preparation for training begins with the VR Counselor pre-screening
consumers who are potential trainees. Referrals to the program are then
screened for communications skills and knowledge and use of assistive
technology. Some employers prefer to interview candidates for training while
other employers rely on the selections made by agency staff.
TRAINING
In a fast paced environment, the twelve weeks training program is presented
in three phases-classroom training with the manuals of the company for which
the trainee will be working, hands-on training with live computers and
working with live calls in an intense work setting. Training is eight hours
each day, Monday through Friday: and appropriate work habits such as limited
lunch hour and limited break time is enforced. Trainees are evaluated
throughout the twelve weeks, and remedial intervention is offered when
trainees demonstrate skills deficits that can be addressed.
ARRANGEMENTS
For South Carolina residents, we provide rooms and meals at the
Rehabilitation Center on campus. For out of state trainees, we provide
assistance in locating off-campus housing, and meals are provided through
the Rehabilitation Center. Transportation is provided to and from training
for out of state trainees as well as transportation to and from the airport.
Orientation and mobility are also available to all trainees.
EMPLOYMENT! EMPLOYMENT! EMPLOYMENT!
Employers commit to placement before trainees are accepted into the program.
If a trainee does not show potential for successful completion, the training
is terminated. Entry level salaries range from $24,000 to $26,000 annually,
and agency staff assists with relocation, orientation and mobility and
technical assistance at time of entry into employment.
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
For additional information, contact Ed. Bible at (803) 898-8786.
SOUTH CAROLINA COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND
Dr. Nell C. Carney, Commissioner
NEW HORIZONS IN TRAINING AND COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT
Dr. Nell C. Carney, Commissioner
South Carolina Commission for the Blind
In 1999, the South Carolina General Assembly appropriated $200,000 to the
Commission for the Blind to expand an industrial training program for blind
and severely visually impaired consumers of working age who had expressed an
interest in working. When the blueprints for the expansion arrived a year
later complete with conveyer belts and work areas, we were confronted with
making a decision about the kind of industries we should recruit as our
partners in the expansion project.
A quick analysis of the labor market in South Carolina indicated that the
greatest numbers of jobs now and for the foreseeable future were in the area
of Tele-communications-customer service representatives, rental and
reservation specialists and sales. With this information, the blueprints
were sent back to the drawing board with instructions to design a
Tele-communications center with state-of-the-art computers, telephone
equipment and assistive technology for use by blind and severely visually
impaired trainees.
When the revised blueprints arrived, it was obvious that we would need
technical assistance and financial support from a private sector partner to
make a success of the training program. We turned to Vanguard Rental
Corporation who had hired a number of our job ready clients. Because they
were familiar with our programs and had found the consumers we had trained
to be excellent employees, Vanguard Rental Corporation eagerly joined as our
partners providing both financial support and technical assistance.
After one and one half years of hard, and sometimes frustrating, work, the
Tele-communications Training Center was opened on our campus in Columbia, SC
on September 18, 2001. The center has the capacity to accommodate 30
trainees. The overall training period is twelve weeks: six weeks in the
training room and six weeks taking live calls in an intense work
environment.
Vanguard Rental Corporation has already committed to hiring all of the
trainees who complete the training in the first year of the program. Other
private organizations where our consumers are employed have contacted the
Commission to negotiate training programs. In addition, we have had
inquiries from other state rehabilitation programs about placing consumers
in the training program.
The success of the development of the training center is a sterling example
of the progress that can be made when private industry and state government
programs form a partnership in the interest of employment of individuals
with disabilities and the social and economic good of the community. The
Training center is dedicated to the continuation of efforts between private
industry and public programs that will create competitive employment
opportunities for present and future generations of blind and visually
impaired South Carolinians and have a positive economic and social impact on
the community.
On Tuesday, September 18th, 2001 at 10:30 AM, the South Carolina Commission
for the Blind and Vanguard Rental Corporation held opening and dedication
ceremonies for a Telecommunications training center for the blind and
severely visually impaired individuals at the Ellen Beach Mack
Rehabilitation Center. In attendance, we had our Board of Commissioners, a
member of the legislature, Voc Rehab, CAP, a few members of the Projects
with Industries Advisory Board along with a number of individuals from
Vanguard Rental Corporation.
This revolutionary concept will unite private industry and state government
to provide training and job placement services for our consumers. The
outstanding performance of the client's previously placed with Vanguard
Rental Corporation led to the initial contacts between Vanguard and our
Employment and Training division, which culminated in the partnership that
makes this center possible. We were able to secure approval to make changes
to a planned expansion of the Projects with Industries Program in the old
pool area with a $200,000 appropriation from the General Assembly in 1999.
These changes are a reflection of the ever-changing job market as well as
the challenges our clients faced during training due to the need to learn
how the assistive technology and the company's software work together in a
fast paced classroom environment. We have many call centers located across
our state that utilize technology which lends itself well to adaptations for
use by our consumers. These types of positions provide excellent
opportunities for further advancement.
Following pre-screening by the VR Counselors, Communications, and Technical
Services, consumers are recommended to the program. The clients accepted
into the call center will receive training in customer service skills along
with the software applications provided by our partner companies taught from
the perspective of the adaptive technology user. Training will progress
through three phases with a potential to serve up to thirty consumers at a
time. Following successful completion of the program, the consumer will be
employed by a partnering company.
After successful placement of our consumers, we can all share in the
development of a new employment frontier made possible by a collaborative
effort between private enterprise and state government. Isn't it exciting
to see the virtually limitless employment opportunities we can create by
working as a team!
Reprinted with the permission of the National Federation of the Blind of
South Carolina from its August, 2001 edition of the Palmetto Blind.
Training Center Aids Visually Impaired
(Editor's Note: The following appeared in the Wednesday, September 19, 2001
edition of The State Newspaper. Congratulations to the Commission for the
Blind for the establishment of this excellent Training Program.)
An old indoor swimming pool at the South Carolina Commission for the Blind
has been turned into a training facility that will help the visually
impaired become part of the labor force.
The Telecommunications Training Center, unveiled Tuesday morning, uses
computers and a talking computer program that allows blind people to work in
call centers.
The new Center will play a vital role in the organization's mission to train
people to be competitive in the marketplace, said Dr. Nelle Carney,
Commissioner of the Commission. It is also important to partner with
industry to provide practical skills for blind people, Dr. Carney said.
The Training Center is a public-private partnership. Vanguard Rental Corp.,
owner of Alamo and National Car Rental Companies helped provide equipment.
Clients of the Commission will learn on computers answering real customer
service and reservation calls from Vanguard, Park Seed in Greenwood and
other companies.
With the changing economy, the decision was made to focus less on
manufacturing and more toward call center, said Ed Bible, Director of
Employment and Training for the Commission.
In the past, when blind people were trained for work, the expectations were
low and the training was not the standard used in the workplace, Bible said.
The call center was developed using Vanguard Rental Corp's guidelines, Bible
said.
The people training in this facility will have the computer skills they need
before applying for the job, said Mike Ralston, Director of Training for
Vanguard Rental Corp.
Vanguard had already employed seven visually impaired people at two of its
call centers, but the company trained the employees themselves, Ralston
said.
Employees from the Commission's Training Center could help fill the 100 or
more employees needed during peak season at Park Seed in Greenwood, said
Dawn Gilbert, Human Resources Manager.
Trainees at the Telecommunications Center will use a program called JAWS -
Job Access with Speech - to hear what is on the computer screen, said David
Bundy, technical coordinator and trainer who demonstrated the technology.
Specially designed headsets will allow blind people to hear a customer
calling in one ear and the actions of the computer in the other ear.
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