Oswaldo Cabrera loves his job at LEGOLAND California. It's the same one he's had for nearly 12 years. During that time, the 36-year-old Oceanside resident, who goes by the nickname "Ozzie", has gone from a seasonal employee to a part-time employee and steadily acquired more responsibilities on the job.
On the surface, Cabrera is another dedicated, veteran employee. When he goes into the administrative office at LEGOLAND, his co-workers greet him warmly and by first name. He takes pride in his job, sweeping and cleaning tables and sometimes helping ring up the orders of customers at The Knights’ Table, the park's medieval-themed eatery.
"I love my job, and they love me," Cabrera said recently.
Cabrera's work experience is one of the many successes of Partnerships With Industry (PWI), a nonprofit organization that for nearly 26 years has given adults with disabilities the opportunity to find fulfilling jobs. Throughout the years, PWI has provided Cabrera with the resources he needs to be a successful employee. Cabrera said that assistance has made all the difference, making his experience working at LEGOLAND markedly different from his earlier experiences in the workforce.
As a high school student, Cabrera worked as a busboy at a popular fast food restaurant, and upon graduation, he found employment at another restaurant. But Cabrera, who has learning disabilities, didn't fit in.
"People weren't nice," Cabrera said. "They were always angry at me, and I didn't understand why."
Then, the San Diego Regional Center, an organization that offers services to people with developmental disabilities in San Diego and Imperial counties, referred him to PWI.
After reviewing his case, PWI placed Cabrera in its Individual Placement program, which sets out to get people with disabilities hired directly by businesses.
PWI assisted Cabrera through the application and interview process and once he was hired, a job coach accompanied Cabrera to make sure he understood the duties of his job. The coach was there 100 percent of the time during the first month, decreasing to 20 percent after Cabrera became more comfortable and independent in his job. The coaching also increased every time Cabrera acquired additional duties.
Cabrera said the help from the PWI coaches and staff are crucial in helping him succeed at LEGOLAND California.
"For me, it was hard when I was on my own," Cabrera said. "It's so much easier when I have someone from PWI to help me, answering my questions and helping me."
Eric Simon, Cabrera's current job coach, said Cabrera's dedication speaks for itself.
"What else can you say? He's been working here at LEGOLAND for almost 12 years," Simon said. "That says a lot. For him to still be at his job, it says a lot about his dedication and his work ethic."
Julia Savoy, the director of PWI in North County, was Cabrera's first work coach and is not surprised by his success.
"It's like that job was made for him and he was made for that job," said Savoy. "He always has a wonderful, positive attitude."
Savoy added that Cabrera's service at LEGOLAND exemplifies the work ethic of PWI's clients, which are adults with a broad range of developmental disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy and down syndrome and slow learning.
"We underline the 'abilities' in 'disabilities,'" Savoy noted. "We work really hard so that people understand that our clients have great value … but that point is made very clear whenever our clients are hired."
Individual Placement is one of several services that PWI, which has four offices in the county, utilizes to help integrate people with disabilities into the workforce.
It also runs a Group Services program, in which a group of three to four clients, supervised by a job coach, go out and work at different job sites, performing tasks such as washing cars, cleaning and pick up trash. For example, MiraCosta College has a full-time PWI crew doing janitorial work and at the City of Encinitas, PWI workers clean bus stops, keeping them clear of graffiti, sweep and pull weeds. Unlike Individual Placement, in which companies pay the employee directly, in Group Services the companies pay PWI, which pays its clients and covers liability insurance and worker's compensation.
PWI also offers contact services, allowing companies to outsource long- and short-term projects such as packing and shipping, assembling, collating, heat sealing and labeling, which are performed by clients at PWI facilities.
Savoy said PWI is always looking for companies to do business with, especially during these hard times, when loss of group sites and other jobs due to the economy are hitting the nonprofit hard.
"The effects of this are devastating to our clients, which include single parents who must find ways to provide for their families and pay their bills," Savoy said. "We need businesses to open their doors and open their minds to listen what our program has to offer and realize that we have people with amazing potential … one of our hardest part is just getting our foot in the door."
According to a report of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released in June, in 2010, the unemployment rate of persons with a disability was 14.8 percent, higher than the rate of 9.4 percent of the population with no disability.
For more information about PWI, go to
www.pwiworks.org
or contact Julia Savoy
at 760-941-7534 ext. 1303
or [email protected].
On the surface, Cabrera is another dedicated, veteran employee. When he goes into the administrative office at LEGOLAND, his co-workers greet him warmly and by first name. He takes pride in his job, sweeping and cleaning tables and sometimes helping ring up the orders of customers at The Knights’ Table, the park's medieval-themed eatery.
"I love my job, and they love me," Cabrera said recently.
Cabrera's work experience is one of the many successes of Partnerships With Industry (PWI), a nonprofit organization that for nearly 26 years has given adults with disabilities the opportunity to find fulfilling jobs. Throughout the years, PWI has provided Cabrera with the resources he needs to be a successful employee. Cabrera said that assistance has made all the difference, making his experience working at LEGOLAND markedly different from his earlier experiences in the workforce.
As a high school student, Cabrera worked as a busboy at a popular fast food restaurant, and upon graduation, he found employment at another restaurant. But Cabrera, who has learning disabilities, didn't fit in.
"People weren't nice," Cabrera said. "They were always angry at me, and I didn't understand why."
Then, the San Diego Regional Center, an organization that offers services to people with developmental disabilities in San Diego and Imperial counties, referred him to PWI.
After reviewing his case, PWI placed Cabrera in its Individual Placement program, which sets out to get people with disabilities hired directly by businesses.
PWI assisted Cabrera through the application and interview process and once he was hired, a job coach accompanied Cabrera to make sure he understood the duties of his job. The coach was there 100 percent of the time during the first month, decreasing to 20 percent after Cabrera became more comfortable and independent in his job. The coaching also increased every time Cabrera acquired additional duties.
Cabrera said the help from the PWI coaches and staff are crucial in helping him succeed at LEGOLAND California.
"For me, it was hard when I was on my own," Cabrera said. "It's so much easier when I have someone from PWI to help me, answering my questions and helping me."
Eric Simon, Cabrera's current job coach, said Cabrera's dedication speaks for itself.
"What else can you say? He's been working here at LEGOLAND for almost 12 years," Simon said. "That says a lot. For him to still be at his job, it says a lot about his dedication and his work ethic."
Julia Savoy, the director of PWI in North County, was Cabrera's first work coach and is not surprised by his success.
"It's like that job was made for him and he was made for that job," said Savoy. "He always has a wonderful, positive attitude."
Savoy added that Cabrera's service at LEGOLAND exemplifies the work ethic of PWI's clients, which are adults with a broad range of developmental disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy and down syndrome and slow learning.
"We underline the 'abilities' in 'disabilities,'" Savoy noted. "We work really hard so that people understand that our clients have great value … but that point is made very clear whenever our clients are hired."
Individual Placement is one of several services that PWI, which has four offices in the county, utilizes to help integrate people with disabilities into the workforce.
It also runs a Group Services program, in which a group of three to four clients, supervised by a job coach, go out and work at different job sites, performing tasks such as washing cars, cleaning and pick up trash. For example, MiraCosta College has a full-time PWI crew doing janitorial work and at the City of Encinitas, PWI workers clean bus stops, keeping them clear of graffiti, sweep and pull weeds. Unlike Individual Placement, in which companies pay the employee directly, in Group Services the companies pay PWI, which pays its clients and covers liability insurance and worker's compensation.
PWI also offers contact services, allowing companies to outsource long- and short-term projects such as packing and shipping, assembling, collating, heat sealing and labeling, which are performed by clients at PWI facilities.
Savoy said PWI is always looking for companies to do business with, especially during these hard times, when loss of group sites and other jobs due to the economy are hitting the nonprofit hard.
"The effects of this are devastating to our clients, which include single parents who must find ways to provide for their families and pay their bills," Savoy said. "We need businesses to open their doors and open their minds to listen what our program has to offer and realize that we have people with amazing potential … one of our hardest part is just getting our foot in the door."
According to a report of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released in June, in 2010, the unemployment rate of persons with a disability was 14.8 percent, higher than the rate of 9.4 percent of the population with no disability.
For more information about PWI, go to
www.pwiworks.org
or contact Julia Savoy
at 760-941-7534 ext. 1303
or [email protected].