Total workplace immersion at Rice Lake Weighing Systems will allow Project SEARCH student participants hands-on training to make successful transitions to the workforce.
Rice Lake, Wis.–Rice Lake Weighing Systems is pleased to announce their involvement with Project SEARCH, a nonprofit organization with the objective to secure competitive employment for young adults with disabilities. Project SEARCH began at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 1996. Today, Project SEARCH has more than 400 program sites across the United States and five internationally. The Rice Lake Weighing Systems Project SEARCH program will be one of many programs offered to Wisconsin young adults with disabilities.
Project SEARCH is a unique, business led school-to-work program that takes place entirely in the workplace. Rice Lake Weighing Systems will provide real-life work internships to a program group of 8-10 young adults with a variety of disabilities from surrounding school districts in the Rice Lake, Wisconsin area. To coordinate the program and provide student support and on-location training and instruction, Ventures Unlimited, Inc. of Shell Lake, Wisconsin will lead the project in conjunction with local school districts and the state division of vocational rehabilitation services.
Rice Lake Weighing Systems is Project SEARCH’s first manufacturing worksite host in the state. Molly Michels, program specialist for Project SEARCH remarks, “Project SEARCH wouldn’t succeed without wonderful host businesses like Rice Lake Weighing Systems. Project SEARCH is very excited to be partnering with a strong manufacturing firm like Rice Lake Weighing Systems to give young people with developmental disabilities the training they need to succeed in the workforce.”
Judith Quigley, Project SEARCH state coordinator, knows firsthand the benefits Project SEARCH can provide a community like Rice Lake, Wisconsin. “I am also a parent who has had a daughter successfully complete a Project SEARCH internship. The growth and development for these young adults after completing the program is wonderful. There is growth for parents, too. Families can see their sons and daughters mature and transition from students to independent working adults.” In regards to the partnership with the Rice Lake Project SEARCH team, Quigley states, “The Project SEARCH team has worked very hard to organize this program. Everyone has stayed very focused on our end-goal: to provide training and support for young adults to secure competitive employment and transition into the workforce.”
According to Rice Lake Weighing Systems’ President Mark Johnson, Jr., “We are very proud to be hosting Project SEARCH and providing internships for local young adults to better prepare them for careers after school. The Project SEARCH interns will be able to gain valuable work experience and perform their job responsibilities alongside current Rice Lake employees. The addition of Project SEARCH interns will enrich our workforce and we are looking forward to the program.”
For more information about the Project SEARCH High School transition program, please visit www.projectsearch.us. To learn more about the Rice Lake Weighing Systems Project SEARCH program, please contact Melissa Denotter, program director for Ventures Unlimited, at Melissa@venturesunlimted.org.
Rice Lake Weighing Systems is a family-owned, ISO 9001 certified corporation, and has been manufacturing and distributing weight-related products and supplies since 1946. Today, Rice Lake Weighing Systems is a global leader in weight-related and measurement technology. The company’s corporate headquarters and main manufacturing plant are located in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, USA with support facilities located throughout the world.
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