Partnership Between Ivy Tech, Opportunity Enterprises Grows Vocational Program

A partnership between Opportunity Enterprises and Ivy Tech Community College has grown their Vocational Training and Empowerment Center program into college certifications and better job readiness for adults with disabilities.

“We had created the vocational department and training center here three years ago when there was a shift in funding with the state of Indiana,” said Kathleen Parks, senior director of employment services and transition at Opportunity Enterprises. “We had individuals losing their funding and they needed to have work.”

The training center started off a six-week program that focused on “soft skills,” which include teamwork, punctuality, getting along with others and following instructions, what to do with a paycheck, and how to budget.

“We do a lot of training on these soft skills, and then we focus in on a discipline,” said Parks. “We chose e-recyling, because we had the capability of launching that program here within our already established Secure Shred program.”

The next weeks of the program focused on work safety, forklift safety, CPR/AED/first aid certification, and what parts of electronics can be recycled and how to remove those parts.

“When you graduate from this program, you are really a level up and have skills to add to your resume,” said Parks.

Ivy Tech Community College has now partnered with Opportunity Enterprises to expand on these programs and move the opportunities forward.

“Our CEO, Neil Samahon, was at a meeting with the Ivy Tech chancellor, Aco Sikoski, and he was sharing what we were doing,” said Parks. “That sparked some interest with Ivy Tech, and we just kept working those conversations until we reached a point where we were going to be able to offer up a true postsecondary education on an Ivy Tech campus for individuals we serve to come on to campus and actually learn those soft skills but more importantly light industrial production.”

Each graduate of this first class at Ivy Tech, which caps classes off at 12 students, will leave the program with an Ivy Tech certification.

Elizabeth, 28, of Valparaiso, has received her forklift training through the VTEC program and currently works at Opportunity Enterprises. - Original Credit: Opportunity Enterprises (Handout/HANDOUT)

“I wanted to be in the VTEC program to find my true job goal in life,” said William, 19, of Valparaiso who is studying light industrial work. “Ivy Tech is an amazing place and I’m able to get a lot of learning done with the lab for life skills.”

“I want to find a job that gives me good health care and good income,” said William.

“VTEC was a good decision because it opens the opportunity for a higher paid job,” said Thomas, 40, of Gary, who is learning the skills needed to work in a factory.

“I want to get a job on an assembly line,” said Thomas, who has recently learned how to read a micrometer as one of the skills in the lab at Ivy Tech.

“This program has been so successful and the outreach has been amazing,” said Park. “We are starting to partner with Ivy Tech campuses all over the state.”

Two programs in Lake and LaPorte counties will be launching after the first of the year, and programs will be expanding in Porter County to include culinary, custodial certification and retail/hospitality.

“It is about inclusivity and being diversified in the world and the communities we live in,” said Parks. “It’s such a privilege that Ivy Tech saw that and embraced that and truly wanted to come alongside the journey with us.”

“We are opening doors for jobs within our community,” said Parks. “There is a preconceived notion that if you have a disability there are only certain jobs you can get, and that is certainly not true.”

Hoosiers with disabilities are a huge untapped workforce, said Parks, “and we are here to change that.”

For more information, visit VTECLearning.org or call (219) 476-9226.