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Hi, my name is Juliet Stapetch and I'm the Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Workforce Ward.
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And welcome to our Workforce Solutions podcast.
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I'm so pleased today to be joined by Fernando Vivera Jr.
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from Texas Vocational Rehabilitation.
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Thank you, Julia, for having me today.
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I'm very honored and I'm very excited for today's podcast.
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So, Fernando, tell me a little bit about your role in VR.
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Well, I'll tell you a little bit about it.
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I'm a business relations coordinator with Vocational Rehabilitation Services.
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I've been doing that for approximately 19 years.
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I've been I work in the Houston Galveston area, which is, as you know, is the fourth largest city in the United States.
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I think fourth or fifth if you AI that.
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And actually is the most populated city in the United States.
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So there's two things going on there.
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You know, it's populated or most diverse in the United States.
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So that's what we do.
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We work with businesses.
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We um the team, what we do is we work with businesses and we assist businesses on all the intricacies, the in and outs on hiring people with disabilities.
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What does that look like for them?
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That's excellent.
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So when someone in the community is looking for vocational rehabilitation services, what are they usually hoping to accomplish?
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So when a person comes into our offices and is looking for services for rehabilitation services, they they often come in um with the knowledge and what they're looking for is for a better life.
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Let me put it to you that way.
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They're looking for a better life, and they're looking for a pathway to that.
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And we assist them on what does that look like for them and finding the employment that they they want to have and that they enjoy.
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And the enjoy part is a is a really important component when the person gets a job, and that's often left out.
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But VR is highly aware of this component, and um later on, maybe in the conversation, you'll see where that fits.
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So, what are some of the barriers that people are facing that you see?
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One of the biggest barriers that I see, and especially in today's age of technology, is um the application process.
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So when a person with a disability is uh has the qualifications, they have the certifications they need, and they're ready to, they're job ready, is what we call job ready.
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They get in there and they go online because most jobs, let's admit it, they're online.
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They get online and it's not accessible.
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That is a huge barrier, not only for the person, but it's also for the company, because the company's missing out here.
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Here's a person that they're looking for that they missed out, and when they go look and see, hey, somebody applied for this job, they're like, well, we can't find a qualified person.
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And I'm thinking, oh, we have it, but we missed it because it they have that barrier there of be you know being accessible, it's not accessible to their website.
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But we do have a team that can go in there and assist the business with that and letting them know, letting them know this is how uh you can get a hold of this talent pool that's out there so you can get that, so they can get the job done and they can get that employee that they want.
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So tell me some more about the services and supports that you offer.
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So when a person first comes to VR, they're looking for a better life.
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But what does that translate to?
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It really translates to finding a job that they're passionate about and that they believe that they're good at and that they can do.
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And VR helps them with that.
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So, how does VR help somebody explore the different careers that are available in this area?
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Well, we start from ground zero.
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We from scratch.
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We take everything that they have, all the tools that they have, or all the experiences they have, we just throw it on a table.
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And then we just sort through it.
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It's almost like, remember when you were a kid and you walked in from Halloween and your parents grabbed that bag and took your candy and you were horrified, and then they just threw it on the table and you're like, no, wait, what's going on?
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And they sort through it for the good and the bad and what works and what doesn't work.
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That's what we kind of do.
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We take everything that they have, we throw it on the table, let's sort through this, and then we find out that hey, you can do this, you do that, and you're talking about this and that, so let's put it together, and then we move forward with a plan for action and move forward on that.
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So tell me more about that plan of action and what services and support VR has to offer.
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So the plan and the action is it's mutual.
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Um, you know, so it let me I want to back up a little bit and let you know that this is individualized.
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So there's no one list that they can go to and say, hey, you know, you have these talents.
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Let me look over here.
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Okay, this is what you can do, and this is what we're gonna do.
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That's not how it works.
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It's a lot of work because there's a lot of people and everything is individualized.
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There you go.
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Once you say all of that, you can understand, okay, yeah, this this is gonna be uh it's tailor-made for each Texan, right?
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So they come in with they tailor make it, they come into an agreement that what does this look like for you?
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The the the the vocational rehab counselor who's an expert in all of this, uh counsels with the with the with the Texan, with the customer, and and they come into agreement that what does this look like for you?
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Does this do you agree with this?
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I think this is a great path for you, let's move forward.
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They pull in the different resources, which by the way, Texas Vocational Rehabilitation Councillors have a lot of resources at hand that can assist them that come in.
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They just pull from here, they pull from there, they pull from here.
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And although I believe that the person is not aware of all this, there's a lot of things, there's a lot of machine behind what's going on to get this one specific Texan to the goal.
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So, how do people find out about VR services?
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There's a lot of ways they find out.
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You know, the traditional way would be on the billboard or from somebody that they heard that they heard.
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We do have, we do go out in the community.
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Um, we explore the community, we join partners that are out there that have resources for the community, so they find out about us.
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Um, I obviously we there could be a better job done.
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There's always something to improve there uh for awareness, so Texans can come in and use the services that are open for them, um, but people do know.
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So, can you tell me a success story of someone that came in, got the individualized plan, and and what happened with their career?
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Absolutely.
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Somebody comes to mind quickly.
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There's a lot.
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Um 19 years, so there's a lot, but recently uh something comes to mind.
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Uh, we had a person uh come in, um, she had a talent and ability to just make amazing drawings and just to still just lively, they were good, but she did not know if that could translate to finances and to even a career.
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So the counselor, just by throwing everything on the table again, looking at all of what she could do, got together the resources, got the certifications that she needed for her ability to draw, um, the graphic designs that she needed, put all that together, and voila, she's an amazing independent contractor where companies come and hire her, and I think she even actually has hired a helper because of all the contracts you have doing all this graphic design for the companies.
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And that's that's a good that's a good example, I think, of what we do.
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A person that did does have a skill did not know how that could translate, and we assisted her on translating that to something that's very viable.
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And she can live on it, very livable.
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Um, just want to throw in here that what we do, it's very important for us to make sure that it is it is uh an opportunity and a job that again the person loves because that's gonna come into play here.
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Um and it is an opportunity that is is gamefully, that they're gonna be gainfully employed.
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It's not just having a person that has a job and they're making trinkets for lack of a better word.
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This is they're gonna be gainfully employed and they're gonna be just like everybody else.
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No difference.
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So VR is tapping into those passions, talents, skills, and opportunities to give somebody a great career.
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And it's very important.
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If that, if that if that is a secret sauce, if that formula is not there, the end result is gonna be different.
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In other words, if that formula what we're talking about here is not there, here's what's gonna happen.
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The person might get the job, they might get it.
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But the first obstacle that comes because their their heart is not in it, their their their talent is not in it, the first obstacle that comes, they're gonna leave it.
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And then here we go again.
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So the initial contact we have is crucial.
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We all hands on tech care.
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Everybody has to play their part right, and then you'll see the result.
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So, for folks in the community that are watching this podcast and they want to connect to the VR services, what are you telling them?
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What do you want to recommend?
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Where do they go?
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How do they find out?
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More information about what you've just shared.
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Easy.
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I think no homie to this because we're making offices and we're taking offices away, and we're putting offices.
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I think there's like 28 offices in the Houston area, right?
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So, and they're everywhere.
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All you gotta do is quickly grab your phone, put in Workforce Solutions office.
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That pops up, it's close to your home.
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Go there, and you can just literally say, I'm looking for vocational rehab services.
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That's it.
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No reasoning, no nothing.
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The polite person's gonna come out, lead you to where you want to go, and they're gonna, we're gonna start the journey there.
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So you heard it from Fernando.
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Come to Workforce Solutions, ask for vocational rehabilitation services, and they are there to help.
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Fernando, thank you so much for joining us.
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We look forward to seeing you next time.