In this second pre-conference webinar, Milton Tyree joined us from the US to discuss the significance of suitable employment for people with disabilities. The session focused on the evolution of open employment services over the last 40 years.

One of the most challenging decisions facing employment supporters is determining their own role. It can be hard to know when to get involved and when to step aside. So Milton discussed the best way to instruct and support an employee with a disability.

Related to this role dilemma, Milton examined the relevance of two frameworks for the role of the employment supporter:

• Social Role Valorisation (SRV) theory’s Culturally Valued Analogue (CVA)
• Marc Gold & Associates (MG&A) 7-Phase Sequence

Milton then introduced the concept of Discovery. Discovery is an alternative to competitive, comparative methods of traditional vocational assessment. He explained

• the benefits of devoting time to people
• how to discern interests related to work
• how to identify conditions for the employee to be at their best, and
• how to let employers know the contributions that the person can offer to the workplace.

Finally, Milton explained the distinctions between customised jobs and labour market jobs. He introduced the concept of personal representation in job development.

This session has been split into three parts. This is part one.

This session was introduced by Max Grinsell-Jones

Hi, my name is Max. I would like to introduce Milton Tyree. Milton lives in the USA. He helps people with disability to have strong work roles. He has been doing this for many years. Milton helps people and workplaces to be more inclusive. He shows them how to create work roles to suit each person. His work is based on SRV. Milton will show us how to get a job set up well right from the start.

Today Milton will be talking about “Doing a Good Job of Getting a Good Job in Open Employment”. I hope you enjoy listening to Milton.

Milton, who is based in the US, has professional and personal experience over decades of helping people with disabilities have strong work roles. He uses the principles of SRV (Social Role Valorisation) as a foundation for his work.

Milton helps individuals and organisations include, involve, and appreciate people who are so often unknown, misunderstood, and rejected. He’ll be sharing his insights about customised employment and how to get the job set up well right from the start.

In 2013, Milton received The Marc Gold Award for Employment. This award is presented annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to increasing access to community and integrated employment for people with significant disabilities.

Milton is a Project Associate for the University of Kentucky. He owns Milton Tyree Employment Consulting LLC.

• Marc Gold and Associates
• Bellamy, G. T., Rhodes, L. E., Mank, D. M., & Albin, J. M. (1988). Supported employment: A community implementation guide. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
• Nazarov, Z. E., Golden, T. P., & von Schrader, S. (2012). Prevocational services and supported employment wages. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 37 (2), 119 - 129.
• Sandra Stokley (2016) For Transition-Age Students, Mock Store Offers Job Training. The Press-Enterprise/TNS (March 1 2016)