Making the Connection

Goodwill links the handicapped, technology jobs

By Robert Mullins

People with physical handicaps have trouble getting jobs. Businesses without enough workers have trouble filling information technology job openings.

Now there's a link: the AbilITy Connection program of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago, Inc.

The AbilITy Connection program helps people with disabilities get schooling, job hunting skills training and mentoring to get IT jobs in spite of their disabilities. It's a way for companies looking in vain for computer-skilled workers to find viable job candidates.

"I don't believe I've talked to anyone who is at full (employment) capacity and isn't recruiting anybody," said Roger Sherman, senior vice president for human services for Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago, Inc.

The goal of the AbilITy Connection program is to get people with disabilities who are interested in information technology careers to go back to school for two- or four-year degrees and then to help them get jobs, Sherman said.

People are referred to the program by the state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), a government agency that helps people with physical or developmental disabilities find meaningful employment.

Six people were placed in information technology jobs in 1998, another 10 in 1999.

Attractive Salaries

The annual salaries people with disabilities receive in their new jobs reach well beyond a "living wage" level. Sherman said the salaries offered in 1999 averaged $33,000.

Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago, Inc. is going to step up its information technology training and job placement efforts early next year when it opens a Technology Training Center Jan. 2, 2000, in an office near North 27th Street and West North Avenue. The program plans to enroll up to 75 individuals for a six-month training program in information technology, he said.

Michael Lamping has a job at Children's Hospital of Milwaukee because somebody worked to solve both problems.

Lamping, 39, landed a job this year as an information systems procurement specialist-he recommends what is the best computer equipment to by-at Children's because the AbilITy Connection program helped him overcome his disability.

"I don't think I would have found a job in the IT field without their help," said Lamping, who suffers from avascular necrosis of the hops, a problem with the blood flow that makes it hard to walk or stand for long periods. He said onetime Oakland Raiders football running back Bo Jackson has the same malady.

AbilITy Connection's roots can be traced to a program 11 years ago between Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago, Inc. and IBM Corp., the computer maker, said Sherman. IBM helped train people with disabilities in writing COBOL, the computer programming language.

In the 1990's, technology training needs have expanded far beyond COBOL, he said.

Six years ago the program added training in software programming, information systems management, Web site design and other areas. People receive the training at technical schools such as Milwaukee Area Technical College, or other educational programs.

Three-Way Support

Today, the AbilITy Connection provides support for Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago, Inc. clients three ways: one-on-one mentoring services for people with disabilities; soft job skills training, such as teaching good work habits; and job placement and support services, Sherman said.

Lamping landed his job at Children's through the encouragement of Lori Grassell, coordinator of the AbilITy Connection program at Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago, Inc. (Note: the coordinator position is now held by Peggy Dooley.)

Grassell was helping Lamping sharpen his job interviewing skills by arranging an interview at Children's.

It is a really exciting program and a great way to get (people with disabilities) involved," said Michael Jones, corporate vice president and chief financial officer for Children's Health System, which runs Children's Hospital. Jones is Lamping's boss and a member of the AbilITy Connection's business advisory council.

The council consists of about 40 people from area companies, mostly large employers, including Miller Brewing Co., Quad/Graphics Inc., Firstar Information Services, M&I Data Services (Metavante) and Roundy's Inc. The council includes a recruitment committee for finding people with disabilities to join the program; a placement committee that links the people with employers; and a mentoring committee to find people who will help people with disabilities through the process.

The committees help to train people in computer skills so their qualifications overcome their disabilities in the minds of employers, said Joe Fritz, manager of the Appleton office of Stratagem Inc., an information technology consulting firm with offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

"Our chief focus is to help those people level the playing field," said Fritz, who is trying to launch an AbilITy Connection program in the Appleton area.

The article appeared in "The Business Journal" on December 24, 1999.