Training Calendar

Recruit, Cultivate and Retain (RCR) is a leadership series designed for mid-level managers working in employment and community inclusion service provider agencies. By joining RCR, you will have the opportunity to develop immediately usable skills for developing your own career and promoting increased job satisfaction for staff you manage. In community with other program managers, we will re-energize, create solutions to complex problems and share expertise.

Goals:

• Learn strategies for recruiting, developing and retaining staff
• Increase your leadership skills as a manager and leader
• Develop a plan for advancing your career
• Hone systems and processes for developing staff into leadership positions
• Connect with other leaders that are managing employment and day services
• Deepen and develop relationships across organizations in your community

For more information and to register go to https://www.gowise.org/home/training/rcr/

UMF students can prepare for a career as a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) with access to the University of Maine at Augusta’s Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Technician Certificate (SART).

This UMF/UMA collaboration makes preparing for the CADC exam simpler than ever Take up to 15 credits—of the 30 total required for UMA's SART Certificate—online or in person at UMF With your certificate, you can apply for Maine's Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) license.

These are past recorded webinars. You can earn 1 hour of professional development if you watch the recording and complete the short quiz.

Here is a list of current topics:

Outcome Orientated Planning for Transition Age Youth

Using a 30-Day Placement Plan

Developing Work-Based Learning Experiences for Students and Youth

Best Practices in Job Coaching and Supports

Strategies for Developing Job Opportunities in Maine’s Rural and Remote Communities

Initiatives and Resources for Individuals Considering Self Employment

OADs Self Employment Stories from Rhode Island

Using Progressive Employment

Supporting Challenging Behaviors in the Workplace

Technology Tools on the Job

Best Practices in Social Media

Practicing with Technology Tools

The Art of Disclosure

Creative Strategies for Showcasing Job Seekers: Beyond Traditional Resumes

Supporting Individuals with Complex Needs

Supporting Individuals with Brain Injuries to Meet their Employment Goals

Our online course is for case managers and care coordinators supporting adults with disabilities and transition age youth on a path to employment.

Our course offers strategies to:

❖ enhance your career path

❖ increase your capacity to support individuals on an employment journey

MAINE’S VISION FOR EMPLOYMENT

This course fits your busy schedule.

❖ Complete the course anywhere with internet access at your desk or on the go with a mobile device.

❖ Finish the whole course at once or in smaller pieces. Save your work and pick up where you left off using the course navigation.

This course is interactive and immersive.

❖ Take your time to reflect and analyze problems before answering the questions.

❖ Explore real-life scenarios, case studies, and stories and check your knowledge with quizzes.

❖ Download additional resources to continue studying over time.

COURSE CONTENT

(approximate time for completion: 5-6 hours)

Our course emphasizes the critical role case managers play in ensuring opportunities to experience competitive integrated employment.

Module 1: Employment Foundations: A positive vision for the future influences our desire to work. Learn about expectations, national perspectives, various types of paid employment, strategies for supporting families, and more.

Module 2: Employment Pathways: Informed choice is key to successful decision making. Learn about dignity of risk, individual voice, guided conversations around integrated employment, job satisfaction, and more.

Module 3: The Employment Process: Get to know the job seeker to help them find a good job match. Learn from self-advocates about advocacy, how to plan for job supports, customized jobs, employee retention, and more.

Module 4: Collaborating with Vocational Rehabilitation: Partnering with VR is mutually beneficial. Learn about defining employment pathways, VR application and eligibility processes, long term supports after job placement, and more.

Learners can access the course from July 1 - August 31, 2025. The course will be open 24/7 and learners can log in and complete the work at their convenience.

The ACRE Employment Specialist Certificate documents 40 hours of professional development!

Join us for this unique, instructor-supported online training to become a Certified Employment Specialist. The courses and fieldwork are all available online 24/7 and there is no traveling required. Log in and complete the work at your convenience. There are three required scheduled webinars to enhance your learning experience and network with other professionals in the group. Instructors are available during the training to answer any of your questions and support you in completing the required work. We provide ample time to complete all the required courses through the College of Employment Services and to submit your fieldwork assignments. You can pace yourself and finish as early in the training as you would like. You will receive your ACRE certificate as soon as you complete all the work.

Required Zoom webinars:

Tuesday, July 8, 10–11am — Training Overview and Orientation

Tuesday, August 5, 10–11am — Fieldwork Discussion

Tuesday, September 30 10–11am — Implementing ACRE Best Practices

Please contact kelly.wanzer@umb.edu with any questions.

In today’s workforce, success is about more than just skills—it’s about connections, trust, and visibility. For employment support professionals helping people with disabilities achieve meaningful, inclusive employment, understanding and leveraging social capital is essential.

Join us for an interactive webinar exploring how social capital, networking, and personal branding can be powerful tools in supporting job seekers with disabilities. We’ll break down what social capital looks like in everyday life—sharing information, offering help, and building trust—and how these simple acts can open doors to employment opportunities. You’ll learn how to:

• Identify and cultivate social capital in your community and workplace
• Support job seekers in building and using their own networks
• Understand the role of personal branding—how others perceive our values, skills, and identity—and how to help individuals shape their own
• Use social media and technology responsibly to enhance professional presence, explore career paths, and connect with inclusive employers

Through real-world examples—like coworkers helping each other, neighbors sharing resources, and communities coming together—you’ll gain practical strategies to help job seekers build relationships that lead to employment.

Whether you're new to the field or a seasoned professional, this session will give you fresh tools to help people with disabilities be seen, valued, and hired.

For more information, please email Kelly Wanzer at Kelly.Wanzer@umb.edu.

Critical to the success of individuals with disabilities in employment is successful fading and maximizing the use of natural supports. Topics covered include why fading and natural supports are important for people with disabilities, programs that support them, and businesses that hire them. You will learn how to identify and use natural supports at the jobsite, when and how to implement systematic instruction and task analysis, and how to build the independence and confidence of the individual in the workplace. The training is appropriate for anyone providing support services to individuals and students with disabilities. Earn 4 hours of professional development time.

This training also counts as part 2 of the: JOB COACH Credential Program. Earning the Job Coach Credential training consists of two parts:

Part 1 — Complete 18 modules of online training from the College of Employment Services (CES). Click on the link and complete the registration form- select the job coaching certificate https://umassboston.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_egSsH92pVUkD8X4?jfefe=new

Part 2 — Attend this Strategies for Fading Supports in the Workplace virtual training

Questions: contact lara.enein@umb.edu

Registration will open in June 2025

Self-determination, informed choice, and dignity of risk are integral components of effective and authentic person-centered employment planning for job seekers with intellectual disabilities. This free online course will include strategies and resources on how to support the development and inclusion of these components in employment services for people with disabilities.

The course will be available 24/7 during the month of September so you can log in at your convenience and complete the work. The course has 2 hours’ worth of content, and you will receive a letter of completion which can be used for educator professional credits and employment staff professional development hours. Questions about this training should be sent to lara.enein@umb.edu

This course is appropriate for educators, employment specialists, career planners and job coaches who assists individuals with disabilities to find and maintain jobs in the community.

A strong Career Planner has skills and abilities that support working with people one-to-one, talking with businesses, learning to connect people to companies, and capturing accurate information to develop a detailed, organized Career Plan. Join the training series today!

Dates for the full Certificate Series:

• September 3, 9–11:00am (Zoom webinar #1)
• September 11, 8:30am–3:30pm (Live session at the DHHS, OADS Office; 41 Anthony Avenue in Augusta; please arrive at 8:15 am)
• September 18, 9–11:00am (Zoom webinar #2)
• September 25, 9–11:00am (Zoom webinar #3)
• October 2 (back up day, if needed)

Here are some things to know before applying:

• You must be fully certified as a Work Support Professional or an ACRE Employment Specialist to attend this training.
• You must attend all sessions to receive the certificate, after completing an evaluation.
• There will be assigned homework between sessions.
• The class will be limited to the first 25 enrollees.
• Registration is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.

You will receive the Zoom link for the webinars in a confirmation email closer to each webinar’s start date. For questions, contact: Lisa.D.Sturtevant@maine.gov.