How Digital Workshop Center provides job skills and services to Colorado DVR Clients
At the Digital Workshop Center, our mission is clear: “Empowering you with skills, not degrees.” We work closely with many strategic partners in the State of Colorado and across the country to provide the best expert training possible, customizing training plans to students needs, and always keeping the human element alive in the classroom. In this article, we want to focus on DVR Clients and how we can help.
Recently, we have seen an increase in the number of students coming to DWC from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in Colorado, Wyoming, and more. These clients are seeking job skills, self-employment skills, or entrepreneurial growth. The following is a brief overview of how we work with DVR to up-skill someone in both technical and soft skills.
1) DVR Client Assessment
One of the first steps for DWC working with any DVR client is to provide an assessment. The goal of an assessment is to understand a client’s current employment status, what their occupational or professional goals are, and where a skills gap exists. We will examine these factors in either a self-employment (entrepreneur) or situational assessment.
In terms of a self-employment assessment, according to the DVR policy manual:
“the following illustrate how a training service may be provided to a client of the self-employment program:
- Brief targeted training and/or educational services specific to business operations, certifications, licensures, etc.
- Education leading to occupational goals for which the industry standard is self-employment (attributes for self-employment need to be assessed prior to initiation of vocational training including the completion of the self-employment questionnaire)”
In addition to this assessment, DWC may recommend a business plan to be created by one of our strategic partners such as Small Business Development Center or the county Workforce Center.
For a situational assessment, a DVR counselor will setup a client with a DWC Training Director or Instructor to learn more about that person’s specific job situation. The goal of this assessment is to determine if job-related classes, in either technical or soft skills at DWC, will be beneficial to the student and their career goals.
2) Determine Skills Gap
During the assessment, DWC will determine where there is a skills gap and training may be necessary. Using both digital, technical or verbal tests, we will find out where a skills gap really exists and must be addressed. Working closely with the client and the counselor, we want to make sure we understand the individual needs of each DVR student.
3) Customized Training Plan
Every student is different and there is no “one size fits all” plan for someone’s training. At DWC, we will create a customized training plan report for each DVR client. Sharing this with both the client and counselor, we will take into consideration each person’s challenges and goals to devise the best plan possible.
4) Recommendations for Classes or Services
The training plan is a working draft and we will use this to recommend classes or services to help the self-employment or individual client grow their professional career. Our recommendations include classes across many strategic partners in the area including Workforce Centers, SBDC, United Way, and many more. The training plan includes a cost estimate, as well as a projected start and end date. However, there is flexibility for us to continually change the plan as we monitor the student through the training program.
Flexible Training Options
Through a customized, personal training plan, we will create a flexible training schedule that works best for the student. With public or private training options available, we can devise a plan that best fits someones learning style, skill level, and pace of learning. In addition, if a DVR client has a disability to consider in the classroom, we can bring in additional interpreters or assistants as needed.
Weekend and evening classes are sometimes available and we typically need 2-3 weeks advance notice to finalize schedules between instructors and students.
Questions?
If you are working with DVR or want to learn more about the process for training, please contact us and we will connect you with the right contact.