Facing the truth about
Barriers to Employment
Helping you craft your
Job Search Strategies
Skills Enrichment Group
We help people with barriers to employment find jobs
Barriers to Employment
A small number of injured workers have barriers to employment that are so significant that they are forced to apply for “Permanent and Total Disability.” Despite the best efforts of their lawyers, these clients still face a long series of appeals requiring documentation that confirm their conditions.
In my 24 years of experience working with the Bureau of Workers Compensation, I use material provided by Independent Medical Examiners to produce reports that expedite this process.
My reports are easy to read and focus on the major barriers to employment.
Help me confirm my client's disability
Excerpt from Mr. S's actual report
How have Mr. S.’s allowed conditions impacted on his employability?
His unskilled work, unloading trucks required heavy lifting and ability to walk, stand for long periods. His amputation and allowed conditions limits his abilities to function in a work setting. He has no skills for the work place.
Based on the current objective findings and the allowed conditions in each of his claims mentioned above is Mr. S. capable of performing any form of remunerative employment?
Finding a job with those limitations in unrealistic. Mr. S. is not capable of performing any form of remunerative employment.
Excerpt from Mr. J's actual report
Mr. J. has not worked in suitable employment in four years. Mr. J. has work experience that he is not able to use because of significant physical and psychological barriers…
Treatments have not significantly reduced his constant symptoms. His conditions have stabilized and will not be changing according to the 2021 IME. “He has reached maximum medical improvement. Further formal treatment (i.e. surgery, therapy, injections) will not provide any significant functional or improvement.”
How We Can Help You Overcome
Your Barriers to Employment
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where," said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
"So long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
The Cheshire Cat might be the best example of where most of us have been with careers and jobs.
With an ever changing, dynamic job market, finding stable employment is a difficult challenge. We live in an age where jobs include temporary, part-time, downsizing, core employees, contracted services, specialized skills, reduced benefits and self-employment.
As vocational consultants, our role is to assist in bringing some order to career choices, educational opportunities and long-term planning. This starts with a clear understanding of a client’s interests, skills and employment experience.
There are techniques for understanding the direction of the job market. Today, securing employment requires aggressively finding information, developing networks, continuing education and discovering passions.
Our approach is client-centered to provide the best opportunity to gain control of your job search.
Does your job search need direction? Do you need to stand out from the crowd? We can help!
Land the Perfect Job in an Imperfect Market
Strategies to help break through the job search clutter
When I worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs, I wrote in a white paper: “We believe that the next ten years will be a continuation of job markets that include temporary, part-time, downsizing, core employees, contracted services, specialized skills, reduced benefits and self-employment. Veterans not only need to have skills and knowledge needed in these job markets, but the ability to survive and thrive in these job markets.”
What has changed? Maybe the changes have accelerated with multiple recessions over the past decades, exporting jobs, supply and demand, and major changes with technology and computerization. These factors are beyond any institution to fix. There is a real possibility that there will be a large group that will not find gainful employment in a lifetime.
This brings us to our current concern: How can you find suitable employment in a chaotic job market with many applicants chasing limited job openings? What skills and knowledge do employers seek and applicants need to make a job match? How can you find the decision-makers with job screening that includes impersonal software and contract recruiters? What kind of employment barriers do you have? How will you make the first cut?
You need a new mind set! In the current job market you need to consider yourself “self-employed.” There are no longer social contracts for employment, if they ever existed.
You bring skills, experience and work habits to the employer. The employer has a problem to solve. As long as there is a balance between your needs and the needs of the employer, you will have stable employment.
You have a responsibility to yourself to continue to build skills and determine what additional skills are in demand, with your employer and in the job market. You are on a continuing learning curve for the rest of your working career if you are to thrive. We will discuss what you can do in Chapter 8.
Is your head spinning yet?
