EmployAble: A World Without Barriers

The overall goal of the EmployAble: A World Without Barriers proposal is to develop and demonstrate a highly innovative and viable, model Virtual Employment Orientation and Support Center. EmployAble is a collaboration between the University of Hawaii Center on Disability Studies, Virtual Ability, and Abilicorp. EmployAble will address the employment needs of the next generation of persons with disabilities (PWD), including Veterans and those with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), with the aim of improved employment outcomes for these populations. The first year will focus on development of the EmployAble virtual world and the second year will focus on its implementation, based on the following objectives and outcomes:

Objective #1: To assemble a team of innovative researchers and developers (many with disabilities) who will develop an accessible, Virtual Employment Orientation and Support Center, EmployAble, resulting in improved resources and information access, skill-building tools, and networking opportunities for people with disabilities and employers (Year One).

Outcomes: Development and implementation of EmployAble, a Virtual Employment Orientation and Support Center housing multiple resources, including an employer database; resource tools; and networking capabilities for individuals with disabilities seeking employment, particularly Veterans and those with TBI.

Objective #2: To pilot and demonstrate EmployAble with 50 PWD resulting in improvements in the success of (a) the number of PWD seeking employment, (b) the number of PWD accessing employment, and (c) the number of PWD retaining employment.

Outcomes: Provision of information, training; networking; access to employment opportunities; and support in employment and retention for 50 PWD and employers leading to improved employment and retention rates for many more PWD; and analysis of baseline data about the effectiveness of these supports for both populations.

The EmployAble Virtual World is an innovative tool, unlike any current project, to meet the unique employment challenges faced by PWD, with a focus on Veterans and those with Traumatic Brain Injuries. Potential employees can be guided to learn job skills; interview and resume building skills; mentor with successfully employed individuals with disabilities; and match with potential employers. Employers can tap into the underutilized resource of employees with disabilities, and learn about supports and accommodations that lead to productive, satisfied employees.

The EmployAble Virtual World will consist of three main areas: 1. Skill-Builder, 2. Access-Info, and 3. Match-Maker. Innovative components of EmployAble via Multiple User Virtual Environments (MUVE), including Second Life (SL) Virtual World Simulation (SIM) include:

• Demonstrations of assistive technology, such as screen readers, captioning video online programs, accessible document creation, emerging technology presentation programs utilizing accessible features (VoiceThread, Adobe Flash, etc.), and text-to-speech software, all of which may be useful tools for employment of PWD.
• Interaction with end users for evaluation, updates, and training.
• Training videos made within SL for export to sites such as YouTube, and the EmployAble website and an EmployAble blog.
• SL training videos showing social interaction in the workplace. Simulations set-up in SL to practice and refine skills learned in training videos using avatars. Sessions recorded for evaluation and assessment.
• Employer driven topics for training situations, using SL videos and practice situations.
• Mentoring and role-modeling with successful individuals with disabilities available to discuss how they have navigated the employment world.
• Web Conferencing capability for technical assistance and training, networking, mentoring, presentation skill-development, and interviewing.

Employable: A World Without Barriers will lead to creation of innovative, sustainable mechanisms for increasing employment and retention capabilities of PWD.

Principal Investigator: Steve Brown