Community Impact

Highlights from WorkLink, SC Works and the WIOA Adult and Youth Programs

Persons with Disabilities

Held each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is a time to celebrate the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. The theme for this year — which marks 70 years (1945-2015) since the first observance — is “My Disability is One Part of Who I Am.”

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month! Click here to view the SC’s Governor’s Proclamation that declares October 2015, as Disability Employment Awareness Month throughout the state. This proclamation encourages all South Carolinians to identify barriers to employment for persons with disabilities, and to continue to work toward improvements to ensure a competitive wage in an integrated environment for all South Carolina’s citizens.

SC Works and ClemsonLIFE, a program of Clemson University for those with disabilities, collaborated together as part of the Disability Employment Awareness Month in October of 2015. ClemsonLIFE coordinates courses of study that includes career exploration and preparation along with self-awareness, discovery and personal improvement through a framework of courses, job internships, and community participation. The students become self-sufficient young adults by learning about employment and independent living while developing social, leisure, and health and wellness skills. As part of the collaboration with SC Works, ClemsonLIFE students participated in interviewing workshops, developing resumes, and touring the SC Works office.

Click here for full article featured the Seneca Journal.

Anderson-Oconee-Pickens Business & Industry Showcase

The WorkLink Youth Committee has supported and provided transportation funding for eighth grade students in Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens Counties to attend the AOP Business & Industry Showcase since September 2010.  This event offers students, parents and educators the opportunity to learn what area businesses do, what careers are in-demand, and what education is needed for various career paths.  Students explore their career options and can better answer the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Students must answer this question as they develop Individual Graduation Plans required by the Education and Economic Development Act, a process that includes selecting a field of study or a career cluster to guide their academic studies.

The sponsored event partnerships are with Anderson County Economic Development, Oconee County Economic Development Commission, Alliance Pickens, local businesses, Tri-County Regional Education Center, and the school districts in Anderson, Oconee and Pickens Counties. The Showcase expanded on the success of the Industrial Product Showcase organized annually by the Oconee County Industrial Group (OCIG) to showcase the products made by local companies and to inform citizens about the importance of manufacturing.