SWEP 2021: Virtually Unstoppable
The Oregon Commission for the Blind’s (OCB) Summer Work Experience Program (SWEP), in its 47th year, is a month-long program for young people aged 16-20 who experience vision loss. The goals are to empower students, teach them a broad range of life skills, and prepare them to successfully join the working world as confident and employed adults.
Typically our students refine these skills while working 20-30 hours a week in a community-based work experience and live on a university campus in Portland or Salem. Although the pandemic made that impossible last year, SWEP carried on! We offered virtual SWEP sessions including career exploration, workplace readiness, post-secondary education, and self-advocacy. Students brainstormed their dream job, researched the steps needed to get there, practiced elevator pitches and interviews, and connected remotely with industry professionals. They also learned daily living skills like exercise, self-care, and, as shown in the photo above, cooking.
We knew offering SWEP as a virtual program would be an interesting experiment, and it was. The huge personal growth and increase in confidence and social skills we see every year in our students is strongly linked to them going to work placements and interacting with coworkers, living together in a dorm, and working as a team in group activities. Could we replicate that?
Another challenge is that of virtual platforms, which often rely heavily on the visual aspect and require a level of technological skill that may not be a reality for all of our students.
Despite these challenges, OCB and students alike agreed that virtual SWEP 2020 was a big success. So this summer we plan to take the lessons we learned in 2020 and move forward with enthusiasm, determination, and creativity. And while we intend to offer as many of last year’s activities as we can, this year’s major focus will be getting students into work experiences.
One of the best things we’ve learned over the past year is how to make remote employment work. As employers have been learning that as well, we are excited to see what possibilities we can create for our students.
With the support of SWEP staff, assistive technology instructors, and job coaches, we foresee our students doing administrative work, accounting support, outreach, or any number of other job duties. One great benefit of remote work experiences is that eager SWEP students can connect with employers anywhere in the state.
We will offer a range of work options to match different comfort levels of our students and families, including virtual (working on a computer from home), in-person (at work sites), and remote (hands-on work experience such as sorting, folding, and basic assembly, all of which can be supported by in-home support staff. This last option will particularly benefit some special needs SWEP students who may not be able to otherwise participate due to health concerns or other complex barriers).
All told, we’re proud to say that while we’re looking forward to a return to in-person SWEP next year, this summer we’re excited to hold another vibrant year of remote SWEP – virtually unstoppable!
