workability to Provide Pre-Employment Transition Services to Develop Pharmacy Clerk and Technician Skills in Students with Disabilities Residing in Rural Oregon

    BEND, OR, April 28, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- workability LLC has contracted with the State of Oregon's Pre-Employment Training Services (Pre-ETS) department to provide career exploration and summer work experience for students with I/DD aged 17 to 21 who reside in one of the following counties: Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, and Lake counties plus the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Wallowa, Gilliam, Wasco, Douglas, Curry and Malheur.

Pre-ETS are services required to be available to all students that experience a disability between the ages of 14 and 21. Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) has pledged to work in partnership with schools across Oregon to prepare students with disabilities for employment. VR supports these areas in schools by providing services in these areas.

Pre-Employment Transition Services can include:

- Job Exploration
- Workplace Readiness Training
- Work-based Learning
- Introduction in Self-Advocacy
- Counseling on Post-Secondary or Transition opportunities

"Our goal is to train students to become pharmacy clerks and technicians in rural Oregon, because that's where the pharmacy tech shortages are most acute," said workability's founder Sheila Jordan.
"There are dozens of job openings across the state. This labor shortage impedes the ability of patients to access their prescription medications in a timely manner."

The requirements for participating in this program are:
- A current Oregon student in secondary or post-secondary education who resides in one of the nine counties listed above.
- Receiving services under an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan, or has a documented disability, and
- Between the ages of 17-21.

How workability will support students' career exploration, training and summer work experience*:

- They'll receive access to a free, online training program at no cost.
- They must complete the online training program before they can start a summer work experience in a pharmacy setting. The training is 120 hours of online coursework which they can do at their own pace. It's best if they can start in May.

workability will provide weekly, online support groups where students can ask questions about what they are learning and get answers. These will be led by a licensed pharmacist.

Once students complete the online training, workability team members will help them to land a paid summer work experience in a pharmacy setting in the community where you reside.

Clarification re: required education, training and licensing requirements.
- Please note that participants may work as a Pharmacy Cashier or Clerk until obtaining an Oregon State pharmacy technician license, because workers cannot perform pharmacy technician duties or tasks until licensed.
For more information about applying for an Oregon license, please visit https://www.oregon.gov/pharmacy/Pages/Pharmacy-Technician-.aspx

If you know of a student who might be interested in exploring this career pathway, please contact your local Vocational Rehabilitation office to request a referral to the "workability Summer Work Experience" program. You can reach VR at 503-945-5880 or toll-free at 1-877-277-0513.

You can also complete the forms found at the links below, and email them to [email protected].

English https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/de1723.pdf
Spanish https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/ds1723.pdf

More detailed information about this program can be found at https://workability.one/job/844838-pre-employment-training-services-pre-ets-pharmacy-technician-training-and-summer-work-experience-workabilitytm.

Additional information about Pre-ETS can be found at https://www.oregon.gov/dhs/EMPLOYMENT/VR/Pages/YTS-Pre-ETS.aspx.

workability LLC owns and operates www.workability.one, a specialty job board that connects neurodiverse and disabled job seekers with inclusive employers nationwide. workability also provides workforce development programs and continuing education for human resources professionals.It is certified as a woman- and minority-owned Emerging Small Business by the Oregon Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID).

# # #