Carving out the perfect job
By Dave Pernarowski, Supported Employment Coordinator, PNGI
“Getting this job is good for me as a carver because it will give me exposure and will let me work on my art.” – James Weget-McNeil
Supported employment for people with developmental disabilities is so much more than just helping people apply for a job. The process from the beginning to job placement is designed to ensure maximum success for the job seekers. We take the time to find out each person’s skills, hobbies, interests, and dreams. Completing the discovery process gives us the ability to find just the right job for people and gives us the confidence to let a business owner know exactly what skills our job seeker brings to the table. At The Provincial Networking Group Inc. (PNGI) in Terrace, our discovery stage with job seekers is set up over a 4 to 6 week period that includes numerous meetings with the job seeker, their support people and PNGI management to map out a career planning strategy.
James Weget-McNeil proudly displays one of his carvings
James Weget-McNeil is involved in the PNGI supported employment program. He is 25 years old, and is diagnosed with FASD. James grew up in the village of Gitwinksihlkw (Greenville) in the beautiful Nass Valley in northwest British Columbia, and is a member of the Frog clan (Ganada). After high school, James was accepted into the Freda Diesing School of North Coast Art at Northwest Community College and completed that program in 2009. This Art School is the only one of its kind in Canada. James was taught by master carvers Stan Bevan, Ken McNeil, and Dempsey Bob. James worked closely with Ken McNeil who is not only a master carver and mentor, but his uncle. He taught James about carving, painting and the unique culture and the history of the First Nations people.
As part of our supported employment program, we worked through a “Guiding Circles” process of discovery. Guiding Circles is a program that uses an interactive, flexible, holistic career development model designed to guide individuals toward career paths. This model combines a traditional Aboriginal worldview with contemporary career development concepts (www.ergoncommunications.com). Using the Guiding Circles process we outlined his top twelve interests and then narrowed those down to the top three, one of which was traditional wood carving.
About a week later, James stopped by my office with one of his completed carvings. The moon mask carving that James brought to the office was very impressive. I wanted to find out more about this artistic talent and follow up on how we might develop a job that matched this interest and unique skill.
James developed an artist profile and photo catalogue of the recent carvings he had done. I then helped James negotiate a consignment deal with a local First Nations gallery and boutique where his mask was sold to a large corporation that wants to display his art in their new offices.
This success developed into an idea to approach another well known retailer in our community that also features First Nations art, with a job proposal. This proposal would have James working in the retail store doing carving at a carving table on a regular basis. This would allow tourists and visitors to see first-hand the work that goes into this beautiful art and have a personal connection with the artist. The business owner could see that the benefits to his business would be numerous. He accepted the proposal and work is now underway to get everything set up and ready for a busy summer season.
The benefits for James are immeasurable as he gets to do what he loves and is paid a salary for doing the work. He will also have an arrangement to sell his finished carvings through the retail shop on consignment which will generate additional income.
Spending the time to really discover the skills, talents, personal likes and dislikes for James led us to a very unique job opportunity.
