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劳动力的新闻
不仅仅是填补爱博体育手机版下载的职位空缺
2021年12月1日
Labor shortages swept across the country in 2021, as businesses could not find enough workers despite high unemployment rates. While Ramsey County unemployment has historically been lower than national averages, local businesses and employment agencies still strive to match employment opportunities with those seeking jobs. 爱博体育手机版下载的一个组织， 梅里克公司.就做到了这一点，甚至更多.
Merrick is Ramsey County’s largest provider offering a full array of day services to adults with intellectual or develop精神 disabilities. What started nearly 60 years ago as a means to help a handful of persons has grown to a mission to empower the overall lives of nearly 400 adult clients each year with meaningful employment, 丰富生活的机会, 和维护自己的权利.
Today, nearly 100 local businesses partner with Merrick through its Production Division. The benefits businesses receive go well beyond simply filling key roles in their operations. 业务 leaders are also interested in making the local community a better place for all by providing meaningful work to people with disabilities and then quickly realize their corporate culture is enhanced when their employees interact with their clients, 凯伦·埃雷拉说, Development and Communications Director at Merrick.
“Our clients seek to be a positive part of their community,”她说。. “When one of our clients asks how your day is going, they really mean it and that feeling of goodwill spreads throughout the workplace.”
就业
Merrick has several programs to impact workforce development. One involves the ability for Merrick to provide a work crew to complete specific duties at a business partner’s site. The crew typically includes three to six individuals, 以及一名直接支持专业人员, 履行各项行政职责, 组装, 清洁, 维修服务. Ramsey County businesses that have participated include Aveda, 美景家庭护理药房, 费尔文医院, 弗里克过滤器, 科瓦尔斯基的市场, H.B. Fuller, Par Aide, University of Minnesota Plant Growth Facility and Warners’ Stellian. One unique service provided by work crews is it’s Plastic Recycling Program, which provides meaningful employment for 28 clients. Merrick contracts with businesses for regular pick-ups of material, which annually diverts nearly one million pounds of plastic from local incinerators and landfills.
Merrick also facilitates the direct hire of clients by local businesses to fill specific roles each business requires. A Merrick employment specialist provides resume development, 采访实践, 在职培训, and intermittent support as needed to ensure the employee is meeting employer expectations.
Lastly, Merrick offers contract work at its Vadnais山庄 location. 业务es can send materials and parts to Merrick, where individuals perform light 组装 and packaging tasks, after which the product is either shipped directly to customers or sent back to the business partner. As a company, Merrick prides itself in providing a full array of work options. They know that “one size doesn’t fit all'' and that individuals’ needs change over time.
不仅仅是工作
Merrick offers programming beyond developing job opportunities and provides support throughout all stages of adulthood. For those who do not have employment as a goal or those who have retired, 它的生活丰富服务促进情感, 精神, and physical health for their clients through multiple activity settings, 个性化的策略, 社区共融活动. 在市中心的北街. 保罗 Program encourages clients to engage with the local community in commerce, 志愿服务, 社区服务, and participation in community activities like the fall parade and Friday night cruzer car shows.
Merrick also supports self-advocacy activities for its clients. More than 100 individuals meet weekly in self-advocacy groups focused on public awareness, 立法的努力, 选民的权利, 同伴指导, 和/或参与社区服务.
社区文化
对于Herrera, the importance of Merrick’s clients to the Ramsey County community was on display during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“我们的客户在疫情期间一直在工作, because many of the businesses they work at are in the retail, 医疗, 服务行业,”她说。. “They kept working to meet the needs of the community.”
Beyond assisting individual clients and businesses, Herrera said she and her colleagues gain immense personal satisfaction through Merrick’s programs.
“晚上回家是一件非常令人欣慰的事, knowing we have helped make a difference both in our clients’ lives and in our community,”她说。.
