Maine Career Exploration Workshop Materials

Welcome to the Maine Career Exploration Workshop Materials Homepage

The Maine Department of Labor Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) is pleased to offer the links below to the three Career Exploration Workshop (CEW) curriculums that DVR has developed. These are tools to use with individuals with disabilities to help determine their strengths, interests and abilities to assist in developing employment goals that will ultimately help them find work in their communities.

Career Exploration Workshop

The Career Exploration Workshop (CEW) is a class designed to assist VR participants to:

  • Explore employment areas of interest as well as uncover unique skills and talents
  • Match their skills with jobs
  • Acknowledge their achievements
  • Identify work strengths and values
  • Improve interviewing skills
  • Deal with difficult employment issues

The CEW is usually offered in a small group format over four to five days – although variations are possible based on individual need. The CEW integrates the Employment Readiness Scale and the World of Work Inventory into the curriculum as two key assessments.

Transition Career Exploration Workshop

The Transition Career Exploration Workshop (TCEW) is a curriculum designed to:

  • Help students discover employment possibilities in an interactive team environment
  • Be offered in modules that make it flexible for delivery in schools, adult ed, community organizations or other settings
  • Provide instruction on topics including: disability disclosure; requesting accommodations; learning styles at work; work values, abilities and aptitudes; interest inventories, self-management skills, occupational exploration and more!
  • Provide numerous assessments that can support student transition planning
  • Be facilitated independently or in conjunction with DVR

To learn more about the TCEW and how it could benefit you, your family member, school or organization, please contact your local DVR office.

Bridge – Pathways to Employment

The newest CEW version, the Bridge is a curriculum designed to:

  • Assist individuals with intellectual disabilities, low literacy and other needs to apply person-centered planning toward attainment of employment
  • Be offered in flexible modules for a total of approximately 25 hours of instruction
  • Promote self-direction and peer support in relation to career planning
  • Be used in conjunction with the Reading-Free Vocational Interest Inventory
  • Be used in program, community, and other settings

To learn more about the Bridge-Pathways to Employment, and opportunities for train-the-trainer sessions, please contact Elinor Weissman, DVR Regional Manager at (207) 596-2601 or elinor.j.weissman@maine.gov