Supported Employment

Employment Pathways, the supported employment division of Abilities offers individualized person-centered planning and support services to assist an applicant in securing community integrated employment. Services offered may include: Job development, application and resume assistance, job coaching on and off-site, long term follow-along support and career advancement support.

Young man working in grocery store in the Employment Pathways program

Employment Pathways

At Abilities, we believe that anyone who desires to work can achieve their goals with the right services and supports.

For more than 30 years, our mission has been to help people with different abilities discover their strengths, explore career goals, search for jobs, learn necessary job skills, and have access to the Employment Pathways Supported Employment Services they need to be successful.

Abilities is an approved Supported Employment Services provider for Warren, Sussex, Morris, Hunterdon, and Somerset counties.

Through our Employment Pathways services, we utilize a person-centered planning approach to identify interests, support needs and gain access to necessary resources to help individuals to find and keep employment, including:
  • Resume development
  • Interview preparation
  • Career development
  • Job search assistance
  • Resume development
  • Interview preparation
  • Career development
  • Job search assistance
Employment Pathways - a division of Abilities of Northwest Jersey
Employment specialist seated at a desk across from individual who is receiving supported employment

Our Employment Specialists

Abilities has been instrumental in supporting more than 800 individuals to achieve their employment goals. Even during the global Coronavirus pandemic, our team of Employment Specialists found innovative ways to work remotely to support more than 40 individuals secure community employment, with a 93%, 90-day job retention.

Employment Pathways dedicated staff are always looking at ways to explore and discovery individual’s strengths and support needs. Each member of Abilities’ Supported Employment Services team is Employment Specialist certified.

In addition to working directly with the individuals that we support, our Employment Specialists have established long-term relationships with local employers. We collaborate with these businesses to understand their needs and identify employment opportunities.

Knowing that transportation to and from a job can be challenging, Abilities also provides training in how to use public county transportation, including Uber and Lyft.

Our Credentials:

Abilities is an approved New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS) provider of Supported Employment Services, Pre-employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS), Out-of-School Youth Employment Services, Trial Work Experience and Internship Development and Supports.

We are an approved New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) provider of Supported Employment Services (individual and group) and Community Based Supports.

Abilities is one of only three agencies in the state of New Jersey to receive a three-year CARF Accreditation for Transition Services, Community Employment, Employment Supports, and Job Development with a designation of Autism Spectrum Disorder for Adults.is

We Also Offer

We also offer unique opportunities such as paid summer internship grants, available to students ages 14-21 who want to explore and identify a career of interest and intern with an employer for 15-20 hours a week for six weeks during the summer while being paid minimum wage.
  • Based on the Warren Community College (WCC) campus, which allows individuals to develop soft skills and explore employment options prior to securing a job.
  • Supports student ages 14 to 21 with discovering what is available post high school graduation and providing students with individualized, person-centered services designed to meet their needs, strengths, preferences, and interests.
  • A one-year, unpaid internship program for students in their last year of high school and young adults with disabilities. This partnership with the Project SEARCH site at Atlantic Health – Newton Hospital lets student interns explore careers at various departments and develop transferrable job skills for community employment.
  • Help out-of-school and unemployed youth and young adults, ages 16 to 24, get back on the path to self-sufficiency through the development of job skills and career pathway planning.

For More Information

Email [email protected] or Call (908) 689-1118