Opportunities for Workers

Since 1971, Provident Horizon Group (PHG) has worked closely with the communities in Central Washington to offer a customer driven, community-based approach to helping people with barriers to employment, especially those with developmental disabilities improve their lives through education, training, employment, and involvement in the community. PHG is nationally accredited through CARF to ensure that our programs and services meet the highest standards of excellence in the field of Vocational Rehabilitation. PHG Vocational Training and Job Placement Services are designed to help people with barriers to employment succeed in today’s workplace.

Employment & Training

Our services consist of these programs:

Job Development - PHG offers assistance to obtain and retain community employment. We work with you to identify your employable skills and help to market these skills to businesses in the community. Our goal is to find a job based on your skills and interests. Job Coaching - The Provident Horizon Group offers support once you get a job. Our job coaches help you maintain your job by giving you ongoing training and other supports that you need, so you are continually successful in your employment. These supports are given at your place of employment or in other settings, as needed.
Micro Business Development – PHG works with those who are interested in starting their own businesses. We help you identify your marketable skills and interests to help research and develop businesses opportunities. We have found that people with significant disabilities can benefit from this type of employment and can increase their community involvement and integration.
Group Supported Training - This program helps you expand and improve your employable skills through a supervised trial work experience. The program trains participants in groups of 2-8 individuals with disabilities and is located in businesses that contract with the Provident Horizon Group for specific work. Some of the types of training that are offered: Production / Packaging Laundry Landscaping Janitorial
Prevocational Training Programs Sheltered workshops were created decades ago on the premise that individuals with disabilities could not obtain and/or maintain competitive employment. PHG provides opportunities for individuals to take their first steps toward community employment through learning basic work skills while earning a training wage based on their productivity. Although PHG currently operates a sheltered workshop in Yakima and Sunnyside the trend throughout the State of Washington is to serve participants in more integrated settings, such as Group Supported Training sites or through Community Employment.

Quality Indicators of Employment & Training

Some of the goals the agency strives to achieve for the people we serve are:

• Diverse work opportunities that reflect business typical for Central Washington.
• Employment that offers a decent wage and opportunity for advancement.
• Employment that offers benefits, including vacation, health insurance, retirement, etc.
• Choices for individuals in the work they do and the hours and location of work.
• Employment opportunities and training based on individual strengths, capacities, skills and preference.
• Employer participation in the process of developing jobs and individualized support strategies.
• Co-worker involvement in the process of developing support of individuals on the job.
• Training in work processes and methods that reflect typical business activities.
• Training wages reflect fair assessments of performance and prevailing wages for work performed.
• Training in job skills that reflect the local labor market.
• Career planning that matches person skills, abilities, and interests to local labor demand.

In pursuit of our goals we strive to:

• Provide quality products and services that consistently meet or exceed our customer's expectation.
• Value the individual dignity, worth, and rights of individuals and maintain the highest ethical standards in dealing with them.
• Recognize that each person has special knowledge and skills and brings to the job unique abilities and experience.
• Provide equal opportunity and fair treatment to all our constituents.
• Encourage initiative, challenge individual capabilities, and create an atmosphere in which individuals can take pride in the quality of their work.
• Provide opportunities to increase competence and strive for high levels of performance.
• Encourage employees to develop goals and to participate in the candid evaluation of their performance.
• Provide training, promote continuing education, and support problem-solving.
• Achieve a commensurate standard of living.
• Provide a safe and healthy working environment.

Educational Program

Upskills is an educational program that assists the participants in learning skills that will help them move toward community employment. Our full curriculum is set up over an entire year and is designed with your needs in mind. You may enroll in courses based upon your needs.

Examples of topics addressed in the classes are:

• Social Skills
• Interview training
• Food Handler Training
• Written Drivers Permit preparation
• Computers
• Dress for Success

For a full listing of classes or other questions, please contact us.

For more information, download our Participant Handbook [ 1.1 MB]

Providing Employment and Training for Yakima, Sunnyside, Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland