Oct 22, 2008 (Omaha World-Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — DIT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating — Fred Hawlik has a simple definition of what he looks for in a worker: “I’m interested in anybody that can do the job.”

That qualification is met by the disabled people he hires through Nebraska’s Vocational Rehabilitation program, said Hawlik, who is warehouse manager for Amcon Distributing Co.

The Nebraska State Rehabilitation Council oversees the program.

Over the years, Hawlik said, Amcon probably has hired some 40 individuals through the vocational rehabilitation program.

“At this point I have six handicapped employees, with two who have been here more than three years,” he said.

Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey recently presented awards to Amcon Distributing and Kitchen Collectables Inc., in recognition of their efforts to hire people with disabilities. Fahey also proclaimed October as Disability Awareness Month.

At Amcon, a wholesale distributor of consumer products to convenience stores throughout the Midwest, employees with disabilities generally pull products to fill customers’ orders, Hawlik said.

The emphasis is on accuracy and speed.

The company usually provides one day of training, Hawlik said. “We hold their hand for 10 or 15 minutes, then kick them out on their own.”

He considers the vocational rehabilitation staff an important partner in his company’s success.

“They know what my needs are, and they pre-screen job candidates,” Hawlik said. “They’re not going to send someone over here to fail. They want the experience to be good for the person and the employer.”

Hawlik said more employers should participate in the program. “The pool of people available is incredible, and with one phone call I can fill a job with no problem.”

Al Turman, owner of Kitchen Collectables, also has had success hiring workers with disabilities.

The company, an Internet-based business that Turman said offers “the world’s largest collection of cookie cutters,” has more than 4,000 designs, all made by hand.

“I was approached by Vocational Rehab a few of years ago,” Turman said. “I always felt that I wanted to give back to the community, so I said yes.”

When he started the business 12 years ago, Turman said, he wanted it to be “pro-family.” He hired homemakers with young children and created schedules that allowed the women to work while their children were in school. Some of the women worked from home.

Turman said hiring disabled workers is compatible with his original vision for the company. He currently has one disabled worker, but over the last three years has employed about six.

Part of the challenge, he said, is that workers with disabilities strive for a perfect performance to compensate for their disabilities.

“Part of the key to success is trying to get them to relax and enjoy the process,” he said.

The work is detailed, Turman said, pointing to such complex designs as a fleur-de-lis cutter.

“There’s a lot of hand-holding and training involved,” he said.

Turman said he will work with a Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation job coach to screen and train job candidates.

“The work is not rocket science, but it is artistry,” Turman said. “When the light turns on in their eyes and they get it, it’s wonderful.”

The Web site of Kitchen Collectables is at www.kitchengifts. com.

On its Web site, Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation estimates that there are 49,000 Nebraska adults with significant work disabilities, roughly 6 percent of the adult population between 16 and 64.

The number of adults with disabilities is split almost evenly between those whose disabilities prevent work, 49 percent, and those whose disabilities limit the nature or duration of work they can do, 51 percent.

Frank C. Lloyd, an assistant Nebraska education commissioner who oversees the agency, said those numbers are only estimates. Some experts estimate that nationally only one in 18 people eligible for job assistance is being counted, Lloyd said.

The state program doesn’t fit everyone, he said.

“Some can’t work full-time or they lose all their Social Security medical coverage, so that can present a dilemma for the system,” he said.

On the bright side, the agency has placement specialists throughout the state, and there appear to be more openings than people to fill them, he said.

The agency estimates that in metropolitan areas about 48 percent of such job openings are going unfilled for lack of qualified applicants.

–Contact the writer: 444-1087, chet.mullin@owh.com

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