GAUTIER, Miss., Feb. 04, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Over 43,000 Mississippians have a developmental disability, and many wish to join the workforce, give direction to their lives, and discover the pride of a job well done. A new technology is making it a snap for business owners in George and Jackson counties to comply with federal law and set themselves ahead of the competition by keeping the doors open to all Mississippians for workforce placement.
A video accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/23478bbb-103d-4397-a25d-6b6d2b420492
Georco.com is a website developed by Innovation Grants from the Department of Mental Health and the Council of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, managed by Singing River Industries in Jackson County and Georco Industries in George County.
Georco.com’s job placement program empowers Mississippians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) and their caretakers to easily register in the system which provides a simple interface for businesses to place job opening notices. Use of the website and its resources are completely free, and the benefits both to individuals with IDDs and to business owners are long-lasting. Businesses discover highly motivated employees, a diversified workforce culture (highly attractive to critical talent pools), and overall customer satisfaction. Georco.com Candidates realize the value in becoming an unmatched asset in the workplace, finding a place in the larger picture of things, and demonstrating high productivity in the workplace.
Georco’s Job Coaches carefully review each opening and when a likely Georco Candidate is matched up, they contact the business for an interview, and help train and assimilate the Candidate with the job’s responsibilities if they are hired. Businesses have no obligation to hire, but using Georco.com is a declaration of their forward momentum, declaring a willingness to make a difference in the community by removing barriers that keep qualified individuals from gainful and meaningful employment.
Businesses that employ these Candidates are more likely to win government contracts, and usually are required to have an active plan outlined in hiring them before being able to apply for federal contracts. At times, the federal government has offered tax benefits and other incentives to businesses making a difference by staffing persons with IDD’s in their workplace.
IDD Director Wade Ogletree, Georco.com’s founder, affirms that Georco.com Candidates have found well suited placement in the food industries, supermarkets and retail, pharmacies, doctor’s offices, veterinarian clinics, and childcare in the positions of busboys, shredders, lawn maintenance, cart collectors, tray preparers, and more.
In a recent study tracking the real-world effects of employing IDD’s, 57% of businesses affirm that they’ve found good matches in IDD Candidates, while 43% have realized observable or measurable benefits to their business. Perhaps the most compelling statistic is that a full 73% of businesses engaged in interviewing and employing IDDs declare that they have had an overall positive experience that has met or exceeded their expectations.
Georco.com is the first in a series of interconnected job search sites for people with developmental disabilities, beginning its pilot program in George and Jackson counties. Over the next few years, other mental health providers will open sister sites, sharing a common database, until all of Mississippi’s IDD residents have access to this fantastic resource.
One Georco.com Candidate has this to say: “People want to see us do good in life, to make life happen. Really, if you get a job, that’s what life is all about. I would like to thank the people who hire me and my friends. Thank you for doing the right thing.”
For more information, please visit http://Georco.com or contact Wade Ogletree, IDD Director, Jackson County, at wogletree@singingriverservices.org.