Services

Individual Placement

Many Partnerships With Industry (PWI) clients are hired directly by businesses on a permanent basis, working at least 20 hours a week and earning competitive wages and benefits. This type of ‘supported employment’ provides clients with maximum independence, working alongside co-workers without disabilities.

With Individual Placement, clients receive ongoing training and support from a PWI Job Coach. The Job Coach provides 100% training and supervision for the first two weeks, decreasing to part-time (20%) as clients become more comfortable and independent in their jobs. Some newly enrolled PWI clients begin directly in Individual Placement. Others start in Contract Services or Group Services before transitioning into Individual Placement.

Over 125 PWI clients are currently working in Individual Placement positions, including office support, customer service, retail support, maintenance and food services. Due to careful job matching, their job retention averages four years! Employers include Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, Home Depot, Legoland, Soup Plantation, Vons, Target, Regal Cinemas, and the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office.

 

Contract Services

For most individuals, this will be the beginning of their career at Partnerships With Industry. At one of our four safe, pleasant and supportive facilities, our clients will learn basic jobs skills such as consistent attendance and teamwork. As many of our clients have never worked before, they will receive ongoing guidance and supervision from Vocational Assistants who will coach them and help them gain confidence in their efforts. This allows them to learn important employment skills and prepare them for future positions in the community.

 

Vocational Assessment Services

Clients who are ready to make a transition into outside employment have the opportunity to work with a Vocational Assessment Services Specialist, a unique service offered by PWI. These Specialists help them identify their strengths and interests, will assess them for work readiness and teach them the strategies and practical skills they need to ensure their success.

Clients can visit various businesses, observe employees at work and even try a hand at jobs they may have an interest in.

Services include Job Exploration ('shadowing' another employee to learn job duties or assist in job choice); External Situational Assessment (learning to perform 'hands-on' tasks of a job); and Personal, Vocational and Social Adjustment (strategies for overcoming barriers to employment in the community, such as communication, assertiveness and decision-making skills).

 

Group Services

As Partnerships With Industry (PWI) clients in Contract Services gain the necessary confidence and skills, they can choose to move into the community by working on-site in the first level of ‘supported employment’. Other clients begin directly in this group setting, where a team of 3-5 individuals works under the continuous supervision, training and support of a Job Coach. Commonly, clients work in office settings, food services, production support, laundry services, car washing, groundskeeping, litter abatement or janitorial services.

Many local employers participate, including UCSD, Point Loma Nazarene University, Omni Hotel San Diego, Callaway Golf, QUALCOMM and the cities of Coronado, Imperial Beach, Encinitas and Vista.