$13M grant will support program to elevate jobs of people with disabilities

Minnesota will use a $13 million federal grant to train and place 1,200 people who are blind or have other disabilities into higher-paying jobs.

The five-year demonstration project dubbed "Go MN" is another step in creating opportunities for those with disabilities to make at least minimum wage. The training will concentrate on careers in the transportation sector.

About 400 employers are expected to hire disabled workers under the new program, and some 700 companies are slated to receive employer "support services," the state said.

Labor, education and workforce training experts across the state are already having conversations with car dealerships, Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad and firms such as Minnesota Diversified Industries and Schmitty & Sons Bus Co. about ways to potentially train and hire more workers at their facilities.

Chris Hadfield, executive director of the Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence, said he's seen these companies successfully hire and train people with autism, hearing loss and other disabilities for jobs such as auto technicians, conductors and truck drivers. In some cases, assistive technology helped make the job work.

Nearly 6,000 people with disabilities in Minnesota make below the minimum wage.

"That number is one of the highest in the nation. We need to do better," said David Dively, executive director of Minnesota Council on Disability.

The national unemployment rate for people with disabilities in September was 7.3%, more than double the 3.1% rate for those with no disability, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The labor force participation rate was 23% for the disabled, compared with 68% for those without disabilities.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce last winter launched a campaign to shrink Minnesota's problematic labor shortage by encouraging companies to hire untapped labor pools such as veterans, people of color, immigrants and people with disabilities.

The new program, funded by a U.S. Department of Education Disability Innovation Fund grant, should go a long way to assisting the latter group in counties across the state, officials said. DEED's Vocational Rehabilitation Services program will work with the State Services for the Blind, the Minnesota Department of Human Services and Department of Education to find employment opportunities.

Dively, with the Minnesota Council on Disability, said he is encouraged by the new program.

"Funding through this grant program can ease the transition from subminimum wages and give people a better chance for success," Dively said. "We support this shift towards paying people with disabilities competitive wages and providing more opportunities to work alongside people of all abilities."

"This is exciting news for our sector," said Eric Black, CEO of Minnesota Diversified Industries, which employs people with disabilities to package goods for corporate customers.

With 1.9% unemployment in the state, the opportunity is now to get "underrepresented populations into the workforce with the baseline skills to make a quick difference if our state's economy is going to grow," Black said.