The CAC is seeking this information through surveys of employers, collaborating with local chambers of commerce, and through individual contacts with employers. As the program develops further, we hope to have one staff person who will gather information from the local business community, who will task analyze computer related jobs, and who will match this information with our students abilities. We began with a basic curriculum used by the California Junior College High Tech Centers, and modified it mainly by providing step by step illustrations. We designed the curriculum and the training process for students with cognitive, learning, perceptual and physical difficulties, who cannot succeed in a large class offered by private companies, community centers, colleges or local schools. As students are referred, each has an initial consultation to discuss his or her personal employment goal, and to find what accommodations might be necessary for success in learning the skills to be taught.
Ongoing consultations occur as needed.
Accommodations are designed throughout the class sessions. Four students are enrolled in each six week session. An instructor and an aide work with students as they move through the curriculum at their own paces. At the six week mark each student receives an written progress report. Some complete the curriculum in six weeks, others continue on into the next session.