The Academy
Community Employment Services
Our Community Employment Services pathway guides individuals seeking employment within the community to find the best-suited career path. A pre-screening process will identify an individual’s personal needs, abilities, skill level, and interests.
The Academy Curriculum
Our staff works closely with each participant using the Academy curriculum to guide each individual in pre-employment skill building, job search assistance, and work preparation planning. We also offer participants guidance through the application process, dressing for success, interviewing, time management, transportation, and proper work etiquette for future community employment.
Pre-Vocational
Pre-vocational skills can deter individuals with intellectual and developmental differences from entering the workforce and living a productive, self-sustainable life. At Pine Castle, we conduct various assessments, surveys, and direct interviews to determine each participant’s individualized interests, abilities, expertise, and work habits.
Once assessment data has been gathered, we facilitate educational and vocational training, ensuring a successful transition into the workplace. Our focus includes, but is not limited to, academic skills, daily living skills, interpersonal skills, professionalism, productivity, and employability skills.
Campus Crew
For participants who wish to learn vocational skills, but are not quite ready for community employment, Pine Castle provides an opportunity to join any one of our campus crews.
Job preparation, paid work opportunities, and hands-on experiences will offer skills for competitive employment in the future. Individuals on the working pathway will be able to join our culinary, janitorial, or maintenance teams based on their abilities, needs, skill level, and interests.
Community Employment
Community and supported employment, by definition, is for our individuals who have had difficulty gaining employment due to the severity or nature of their disability. We plan to develop and implement programs in the working pathway to focus on building skills needed to meet employer productivity, suitable behaviors, and social acceptance in a job setting.
Training will be provided to help our participants obtain and maintain employment by transitioning them into work settings through the Academy curriculum.
In general, our most important goals are to allow our participants to gain an understanding of themselves, their abilities, interests, and understanding of the world of work. Once employed, we will offer short-term support that is necessary to obtain a job and reach stabilization. The next phase is long-term ongoing support needed to maintain employment indefinitely in an integrated work setting.
