Quality work expands members opportunities

Increasing job opportunities in the community has been an important goal for Gompers Employment Services program, Director Mark Botterbusch explained. “One year ago, we were able to offer our members two Group Supported Employment (GSE) job sites – today we have six – a three-fold increase in opportunity.”

GSE sites are important because the work occurs at the employer’s place of business, not in Gompers’ center-based training program on our Glendale campus. It is important for our members to gain real world job experience, as well as the social skills practiced with community integration. All of our current GSE sites have originated from center-based contracts.

“We celebrate small business owners who are inclusive in their diversity outreach to include individual with disabilities,” Botterbusch said. “We encourage Gompers’ supporters to not only support these fine companies, but to also reach out through their networks to help us grow our GSE sites even more.”

Highlights from our four new community partners

Laura’s Gourmet Granola

A leader from Laura’s Gourmet Granola reached out to Gompers Business Solutions program through our Website to learn more about our efforts to train individuals with disabilities in competitive wage opportunities. Mark Botterbusch and his team quickly scheduled a time study to determine what was needed to meet the specifications for a contract packaging granola and granola bars. “We began with a center-based contract a few months ago and are now ready to start the GSE job site,” Botterbusch explained. “It has been our pleasure to be invited to work in the niche market of gourmet foods.”

HBI

It’s been almost a year since Gompers members began assembling HBI packages of rolling papers. The contract with HBI came through a referral from one of our sister agencies when production levels increased beyond their ability to meet demand. Work is now available at both our ES center-based campus and at the HBI job site. “We have so many members skilled in the assembly required for this contract that we now are able to rotate those who work at the job site,” said Employment Support Supervisor Karen De Santiago. “It’s a real benefit to our members to have transition opportunities between center-based and real-world employment.”

Rigid Industries Lighting & Panoramic Press

Rigid Industries approached Gompers a little over 18 month ago when they were seeking fiscally focused business solutions for their company. “They needed a fixed cost for the assembly of their after-market LED light accessory kits,” Xavier Conde, Gompers Business Solutions supervisor said. “We were able to nail down their costs, which was critical for them in order to be able to set their retail pricing.” Rigid was so pleased that when the time came to outsource their decal kits to Panoramic Press, they recommended Gompers Business Solutions for the assembly of the decal kits. “Our growth is directly related to word-of-mouth recommendations,” Botterbusch explained. “By producing high-quality, dependable results, we can help entrepreneurial companies successfully meet their bottom-line objectives.”